Tracey Epps is a international lawyer and trade policy consultant based in Wellington, New Zealand
Services
International Law & Trade Policy Consulting
Advisory – Public Sector
Advising on treaty negotiations and accession processes
Assessing consistency of legislation, regulatory and policy actions with trade and investment rules
Preparing plain English materials to explain trade agreements for exporters and importers
Research and analysis; preparation of policy papers
Advisory – Business
Advising exporters on market access issues, and how to understand and access the benefits offered by the WTO and FTAs
Assessing whether laws and governmental actions are consistent with trade rules, including under the WTO and FTAs
Assisting businesses to understand the implications of trade policy and develop government engagement strategies
Advising on import and export regulations, including customs laws, sanctions, and export controls
Training / Education / Trade Promotion Assistance
Delivering training for government officials or others on all aspects of international trade law and policy
Preparing plain English materials to explain trade agreements for exporters and importers
Technical Assistance
Assistance with technical assistance projects of various kinds covering all aspects of trade law and policy, including assessing compliance with rules, accession to WTO or regional agreements, assisting with implementation plans and processes
Preparing plain English materials to explain trade agreements
Arbitration
WTO and FTA arbitrations
Experience - Highlights
01
Trade Negotiations
Working with the New Zealand government on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with the United Kingdom and the European Union
Lead New Zealand legal counsel for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, 2010-2016
Participation in FTA negotiations with Korea, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
02
Implementing trade agreements
Working with a Pacific Island government to assist with accession to the European Partnership Agreement (EPA)
Advising 8 Pacific Island governments with respect to the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (PACER Plus), including in relation to compliance and ratification, and development of plain English implementation guidelines for officials
Working on New Zealand’s implementation of the TPP following signature in 2016
03
Trade disputes and compliance
Member of the New Zealand legal team working on the WTO dispute between New Zealand and Australia in the appeal phase (Australia – Apples)
Working on various WTO Third Party submissions for New Zealand
Advising government on a wide range of trade and investment issues, including consistency of domestic legislation with WTO and FTA rules
04
Advising business
working in the Trade Strategy Team at Fonterra Cooperative Group
tariff rate quota administration, including working with the New Zealand dairy industry on New Zealand's complaint against Canada under the CPTPP
advising businesses on various market access issues
advising on the implications of United Nations and US and EU sanctions programmes, including in relation to Russia, Belarus, Iran, North Korea, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Belarus
advising on customs law issues, including application for a Customs tariff concession under section 8 of the Tariff Act; and working on a successful Customs Appeal Authority application to overturn a ruling denying preferential tariffs under the New Zealand Korea FTA
05
Training/teaching
Training New Zealand officials, and officials of other countries on international trade law and policy
participating in a training workshop for ASEAN government officials on international investment law (Manila, November 2018)
06
Arbitration/Dispute Settlement
Working with the New Zealand dairy industry on the CPTPP dispute brought by New Zealand against Canada under the CPTPP regarding Canada's adminstration of dairy tariff rate quotas
Member of arbitration panel in the valuation phase of the WTO dispute between the European Union and the United States over subsidisation of the large civil aircraft industry (United States – Large Civil Aircraft)
Part of the legal team working on the WTO dispute brought by New Zealand against Australia regarding access of New Zealand apples to the Australian market
07
Diplomacy
Leading discussions on regional economic integration in “Track Two” dialogues between the Asia New Zealand Foundation and various partners including the Pathfinder Foundation in Sri Lanka; the Indian Council of World Affairs; the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam; the Prospect Foundation of Taiwan; ASAN Institute, South Korea; and ASEAN Institutes of Strategic and International Studies, Malaysia.
08
Other
Management consultant focused on strategic planning and evaluation of government programmes in the health sector at both provincial and federal levels in Canada
