Cliff Sosnow is a Partner practising in the International Trade and Investment Group. He is recognized in Law Business Research's Who's Who Legal: Canada and The International Who's Who of Trade & Customs Lawyers, The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory as a leading practitioner in international trade regulation, The Best Lawyers in Canada as a leading practitioner in international arbitration, Legal Media Group's Guide to the World's Leading International Trade Lawyers and is recommended in Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business as a leading practitioner in WTO (World Trade Organization)/international trade. Cliff advises leading corporations, governments and industry associations on global trade and investment issues, including compliance with international agreements (North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), bilateral investment treaties, free trade agreements to which Canada is a party, and the WTO), foreign corrupt practices, sanctions, antidumping and countervailing duty and unfair subsidy claims, export/import licences, procurement disputes and customs. He litigates before NAFTA and WTO panels, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal and the Federal Court of Appeal, most recently on behalf of the United States Trade Representative and the U.S. Department of Justice in successfully defending a Canadian International Trade Tribunal decision against a challenge. He also regularly lobbies the Canadian government on behalf of global companies on free trade and bilateral investment treaty negotiations.

Cliff has served as senior counsel with the trade law division of the Canadian Department of International Trade, where he litigated on behalf of and provided opinion advice to the government on a wide range of complex international trade and investment issues. He represented Canada on several GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) and WTO disputes, including Canada's first dispute before the WTO Appellate Body. Subsequent to his departure from the government, Cliff became the first Canadian private-sector lawyer to represent the Government of Canada in WTO litigation. He has also advised Canadian officials on the negotiation of the WTO Agreement on Basic Telecommunication Services, the WTO Financial Services Agreement, the Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement and various provisions of the NAFTA, including the NAFTA chapter on dispute settlement.

Cliff also held the position of in-house counsel to the Canadian International Trade Tribunal. He advised on numerous trade law issues and litigated on behalf of the Tribunal before free trade agreement panels.

In light of Cliff's deep trade law expertise, the Asian Development Bank selected him as the only Canadian lawyer to join a team of international legal experts to work with senior Chinese government trade officials to review and revise China's trade laws to ensure compliance with WTO agreements.

Cliff has been asked to provide sophisticated and complex international trade and investment advice to some of Canada's most high-profile, regulated industries. He has advised a leading global commodities producer on the consistency of Egyptian regulation with the expropriation provisions of the Canada-Egypt Bilateral Investment Treaty. He also advised a mining company on the protections available under a bilateral investment treaty between Holland and Bolivia in light of a recent announcement by the Bolivian government of its intention to withdraw from the International Centre for Settlement of Investment. He has counselled a North American refinery association (one of the world's largest retailers), a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company, a "Big Three" automobile manufacturer and a United States utility company on whether various NAFTA government regulations comply with NAFTA investment chapter obligations. Building on this expertise, Cliff most recently presided over a high-level conference panel of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association in Los Angeles in 2008 on Bilateral Investment Treaties: Lessons Learned from the Latin American Experience.

In addition, Cliff has advised Canadian and regional industry associations on the WTO consistency of numerous investment issues, including government proposals regarding the refundable tax-credit schemes, investment tax credits and accelerated tax depreciation for capital expenditures.

Cliff has appeared on Canadian television and radio, such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, to speak on international trade and investment issues, and has been quoted in several Canadian newspapers and magazines, including the Globe and Mail, the National Post, Lexpert (a business magazine for lawyers) and Law Times. He also writes extensively on international trade and investment regulations, including developments regarding bilateral and NAFTA investment decisions, foreign investment restrictions, WTO rulings, export controls, antidumping and countervailing duty decisions, economic sanctions and a multiplicity of border issues.

Cliff has received the following recognition and/or holds the following positions:

• Member on the editorial board of Kluwer Law International's Global Trade and Customs Journal
• Member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce 2010 Resolution Review Task Force
• Member of the Trade Policy Business Advisory Group, a federally appointed group advising the government on Canada's international trade policy and negotiating agenda
• Recipient of the Golden Jubilee Medal of Queen Elizabeth II that is given to Canadians who have made a significant contribution to their fellow citizens, their community or to Canada
• Past chair of the Canadian Bar Association's National Section on International Law
• Chair of the International Trade Law Committee of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association
• Chair of the Board of Management of the Canada Europe Round Table for Business
• Vice-chair of the Trade Committee of the BIAC (Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)
• Co-chair of the International Affairs Committee of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce
• Past vice-chair of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters (I.E.Canada)
• Former director on the Board of the Canadian Council on International Business and chair of the Council's Trade Policy Committee
• Former director and treasurer of the Canadian Council on International Law
• Former director on the board of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada/Ontario Division