ARNOUD WILLEMS leads the EU Trade and Customs team. He advises companies on how to benefit from trade and customs rules, as well as from the negotiation, conclusion and implementation of trade agreements, including the World Trade Organization (WTO). In this capacity, Arnoud regularly represents clients before European, Dutch and Belgian administrative authorities, courts and arbitration panels. Arnoud is also a thought leader on competitiveness, the application of WTO rules to the energy sector, climate change, and the impact of the new EU energy regulation, particularly with respect to BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) companies and governments.
Arnoud is a leading challenger of EU anti-dumping regulations, with an unmatched success rate in such cases before the European Courts, enabling his clients to obtain significant duty refunds. Successes include the following ground-breaking cases:
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Silicon metal (ASMP, Case T-107/04);
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Silico-manganese (ENRC, Case T-107/08);
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Footwear (Brosmann, Cases T-401/06 and C-249/10P); and
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Bed-linen (Gul-Ahmed, Case T-199/04).
In addition, Arnoud helps companies understand the concrete implications of the WTO rules and treaty (trade) provisions for their business. Such understanding has helped his clients improve competitiveness and financial performance.
Arnoud features prominently in the EU and international trade rankings of the leading bar publications such as Chambers, The Legal 500, Who’s Who Legal, and Practical Law Company (PLC). Clients have been quoted in Chambers praising Arnoud as "a wonderful lawyer", who is "creative and persistent and knows the industry and issues extremely well", and clients have further pointed to his "business mind and ability to think strategically".
Arnoud publishes and speaks widely on trade topics such as anti-dumping, customs, the WTO accession of Russia and China, as well as trade rules on energy, climate change, export controls and sanctions. His articles have been published in Asian, European and American journals.
Before entering private practice, Arnoud was a lieutenant in the Royal Dutch Navy and served as a legal officer at Royal Philips Electronics.