Following last year’s successful seminar, there have been a number of important developments in the area of export control regulations and economic sanctions. Foreseeable international events are expected to have a significant impact in the near future. This calls for an update on trade controls from both a US and EU perspective.

Iran has been high on the agenda since the adoption of the JCPOA. Implementation Day has opened a vast and attractive market to EU businesses, a potential that has yet to be realized. Are EU businesses really entering the market? What regulatory challenges are they facing? Have EU banks recovered from the chilling effect of US sanctions enforcement and are they willing to support their customers? Should remaining sanctions still call for caution?

The Ukrainian crisis and the subsequent adoption of sanctions against Russia have receded somewhat into the background but they remain an important regulatory challenge. How is the EU industry coping with the sanctions? Will the sanctions simply continue to be extended or is it fair to expect some easing in the near future?

In the EU, the Commission is expected to take steps to reform the export control regime. Yet for the EU, Brexit may be the real challenge: what will be the impact of Brexit on the export control and economic sanctions regimes of the EU? Will the United Kingdom align itself to EU trade control regimes or will it rather lean towards the US?

In the US the presidential election may have an impact on trade control, in particular on the current reform of the export control regime. The presidential election may also impact the current sanction regimes regarding Cuba and Iran, the latter being an important theme of the election campaign.

These topics will be discussed by last year’s panel of distinguished legal experts from Loyens & Loeff and the US law firm Bryan Cave LLP. This year’s event will also feature discussions with the regulators themselves as representatives from the EU, the US and the national agencies have been invited to join the panel as well.

This seminar specifically aims at providing business with (i) a clear understanding of relevant US and EU trade controls and their enforcement and (ii) an insight in recent and expected developments and their practical implications.

PROGRAMME

14:00     Registration

14:30     Welcome and Introduction by

• Mr. Olivier Joris – Executive Manager of the Competence center Europe & International, Federation of Enterprises in Belgium

14:35     Recent developments in the area of export control regulations and economic sanctions from US & EU Perspectives by

• Mrs. Susan Kovarovics, Partner, Bryan Cave, Washington DC
• Mr. Bert Gevers, Partner, Loyens & Loeff, Brussels and
• Mr. Gerard Kreijen, Senior Associate, Loyens & Loeff, Amsterdam

15:15     Keynote speech on the recast of the Dual Use regulation by the European Commission by

• Mr. Stéphane Chardon, ‎Head of Sector, Strategic Export Controls, European Commission

15:55     Keynote speech on US export control reform and its impact on EU businesses. US EAR sanctions regimes: what lies ahead? by

• Mr. Kevin J. Wolf, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration, ‎U.S. Department of Commerce

16:35     Q&A

16:55     Conclusion by Mr. Olivier Joris

17:00     Networking Cocktail