Jean Anderson

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Professional Experience

: Current; Government of Canada Softwood Lumber Litigation Until the entry into force of the Softwood Lumber Agreement described above, the International Trade Group represented the Government of Canada and led the multi-firm defense team representing all Canadian interests in Softwood Lumber IV -- one of the largest, most complex, and most political international trade disputes in history, involving over $5.5 billion in duties and $6 billion in annual Canadian exports. Although most of the 50-plus proceedings came to a close shortly after the SLA took effect, critical litigation continued. In particular, the US Government and the petitioners sought to vacate the judgment and decision of a three-judge panel of the US Court of International Trade, in which the Court unanimously ruled that the antidumping and countervailing orders on softwood lumber had to be revoked ab initio and all duties refunded ,and confirmed that NAFTA binational panel review invalidating an order will lead to the same complete relief as review before US courts. While the Court of International Trade (CIT) vacated the judgment in light of the SLA 2006 and the resulting refund of duties, in an important victory for Canada, the Court refused to vacate its decision interpreting US law to require that NAFTA panel review be given full effect. The US Government’s and petitioners’ appeals of the CIT judgment to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) were subsequently dismissed. more

: Current; Association for the Administration of Rice Quotas (AARQ) Management of Export Quotas The International Trade Group has long represented US rice processors and exporters through an innovative (and much copied) industry-managed system of auctioning export quotas negotiated by the US Government in trade agreements. In 2006, the EU imposed virtually insurmountable restrictions on imports of US long-grain rice after traces of genetically engineered rice strains were discovered in US shipments. Since then, as efforts to remove or diminish the EU restrictions continue, the group has worked to ensure the continued value of the rice tariff-rate quotas, and export certificates issued under it, under the US-EU Enlargement Agreement.

: Current; Corn Refiners Association Mexican HFCS Quotas In July 2006, after a years-long and multifaceted battle over Mexican market access for US high fructose corn syrup, the US and Mexico reached agreement on expanding quotas for shipments of US HFCS to Mexico. The International Trade Group, as counsel to the Corn Refiners Association on managing these export quotas, issued export certificates for the quota year beginning October 2007, and is working with the Association to prepare for the negotiated end of quotas in 2008.

: Current; Government of Canada Canadian Wheat Board v. United States The group is lead counsel to Canada in litigation in the CIT arising from a US countervailing duty case on wheat from Canada. In that case, following NAFTA panel review, the US International Trade Commission reversed its earlier injury finding, and the US Department of Commerce revoked the invalidated order – but only as to subsequent entries. The case raises two systemic issues: whether the invalidation of an order as a consequence of NAFTA panel review must lead to revocation ab initio of the order and the refund of all duties on unliquidated entries (as the CIT held in the softwood lumber litigation described above), and whether a foreign sovereign has standing to sue the United States under the Administrative Procedure Act. The CIT is expected to rule in the first half of 2008. Its ruling, and any subsequent appeal to the CAFC, may establish binding precedent that will put an end to the US Government’s refusal to give full effect to NAFTA panel review.

Education