ANDREW SHOYER co-leads the firm’s Global Arbitration, Trade and Advocacy practice. Andy focuses on the implementation and enforcement of international trade and investment agreements. Andy also advises companies on compliance with sanctions administered by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and export controls and anti-boycott rules administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). Drawing on his experience at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and with the World Trade Organization (WTO), Andy advises companies, trade associations and governments on the use of WTO, USMCA and other treaty-based trade and investment rules to open markets and resolve disputes. He works extensively with manufacturers and service providers on WTO compliance in Asia and on protection of intellectual property in bilateral and regional free trade negotiations.
Andy spent seven years at USTR, serving most recently as legal adviser in the U.S. Mission to the WTO in Geneva. He was the principal negotiator for the United States of the rules implementing the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding and has briefed and argued numerous WTO cases before dispute settlement panels and the WTO Appellate Body. Prior to his arrival in Geneva, Andy was assistant general counsel at USTR in Washington, D.C., where he served as principal legal counsel in the negotiation of the market access rules of the NAFTA, as well as the framework agreements with various Latin American countries. He also worked on numerous trade policy issues with the U.S. Congress and the economic agencies of the executive branch of the U.S. government.
Andy’s leadership in the international trade and dispute settlement arena is widely recognized. He is consistently ranked among the nation’s top international trade lawyers by Chambers USA, Chambers Global, and Who’s Who Legal. Andy has been ranked in Band 1 by Chambers USA every year since 2013, and has been ranked by Chambers Global (USA and Asia-Pacific Region) since 2006. The edition praised Andy as a “standout practitioner” who is highly esteemed by his peers for his proficiency in trade policy matters, particularly in relation to the WTO, and described him as “one of the best WTO lawyers there is.” Andy was recognized in the 2016 edition of Who’s Who Legal: Trade & Customs as a “Global Elite Thought Leader.” In the 2021 edition, he is described as “a top WTO lawyer” who stands out for his “superb knowledge of trade law.” A previous edition notes that he is particularly proficient in dispute settlement proceedings and “very attentive to client needs” (2020). International Law Office has bestowed on Andy twice its “Client Choice Award” for client service in trade and customs law. In 2017, Andy was listed in The Legal 500’s the Hall of Fame. Andy is an adjunct professor in international trade and investment policy at the School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University.