Yves Melin is a Belgian avocat, senior associate based in our Brussels office. He divides his time between international trade law, customs law and Belgian business and regulatory laws.

Trade and Customs 

Yves specialises in various aspects of international trade and customs laws, with a particular emphasis on EU and Russian trade remedies (anti-dumping measures, countervailing measures and safeguards) laws and proceedings; and WTO law.

He advises governments and corporations on specific issues relating to EU, Russian and WTO international trade laws and practices; and regularly speaks at seminars, conferences and training sessions organised on various international trade law topics. Yves provides assistance to clients throughout trade remedies investigations, in particular for the preparation of questionnaire responses and during on-the-spot verifications, representation before the European Commission and for the negotiation, implementation and monitoring of undertakings.

Yves represents clients before the General Court and the Court of Justice of the EU in disputes relating to international trade and customs laws.

Yves has been ranked as one of the leading trade law practitioners of the expert guides (www.expertguides.com) and as recommended trade lawyer by Chamber & Partners (Belgium).

Belgian Business and Regulatory Laws

Yves Melin handles both advisory files and litigation cases, in a wide range of commercial matters, with a special emphasis on data protection, public procurement, contracts, distribution, competition, trade practices and marketing, health & safety, environmental law & product liability.

Representative Experience

Trade and customs

• Representing the largest Chinese paper producer in the first ever EU anti-subsidy investigation against China, during the investigation, and in annulment proceedings against the definitive measures before the General Court of the EU.
• Representing the two largest Chinese producers of fasteners before the General Court of the EU in a challenge of the anti-dumping duties imposed against this product.
• Representing all four Korean producers, one large Chinese producer and over ten European users in the EU anti-dumping investigation against imports of high tenacity yarn of polyester originating in China, Korea and Taiwan. All Asian clients received a zero duty, including one Chinese producer granted market economy treatment.
• Representing the four Korean producers of galvanized steel exporting to Russia in a Russian anti-dumping investigation against Korean polymer-coated steel (obtained termination without duties for lack of injury – a first).
• Successfully defended a consortium of importers of bed linen in a customs case before the Court of Justice of the EU for the retroactive recovery of anti-dumping duties.
• Administrative challenges on behalf of EU importers of Binding Tariff Information (BTI) decisions concerning the customs classification of several products resembling, but different from products covered by anti-dumping measures.
• Counseling the Government of Brazil in a number of disputes before the WTO dispute settlement body (Geneva), under a long term contract for legal assistance.
• Advice to the Government of the Russian Federation on WTO accession.
• Long-term training of the trade defense investigators at the Ministry of Commerce of a major developing country, in particular in the field of anti-dumping law and practices and detailed dumping calculation methodologies.
• Advising a European manufacturer supplying the US government on EU and Swiss rules of origin and how they interact with the requirement under US public procurement law not to supply products originating in certain sensitive countries.

Belgian Commercial and Regulatory Laws

• Advising a large international industrial group on the interaction between US export control rules and Belgian data protection law, and how to export to the US data relating to Belgian employees in order to comply with a US obligation to report (potential) crimes by company employees.
• Data Protection: Advising multinationals in the implementation of corporate wide compliance with the EU data protection directive, and the Belgian data protection legislation implementing it, for instance concerning whistle blowing schemes, and Human Resources Management systems.
• Contract – competition: Advising clients in the renegotiation of take or pay clauses in energy contracts on the basis of competition law arguments.
• Public procurement – nuclear sector - Assisting clients in tender procedures before the Belgian nuclear agency.
• Transactional work, including due diligence: Advising on the acquisition of two Belgian companies (Wallonia) active in the grain processing sector, as part of the acquisition by the buyer of the seller’s entire activity, in several EU countries. This involved reviewing a large array of corporate, commercial and regulatory documents, with the main focus being on Walloon Region environment law and Belgian property law. Advising on the acquisition of a Belgian company (Flanders) active in the emergency and home repair sector.
• Litigation – competition: Representing a Greek numbering company before the Belgian Courts in a dispute with the numbering association of which it was expelled. Our team managed to have this exclusion suspended before the Court of Appeal of Brussels (summary proceeding) for over 18 months, on the basis of competition and Belgian contract/civil law arguments.