Profile: Riyaz Dattu

Trade and Customs

Biography: Trade & Customs

Riyaz Dattu has advised international businesses, industry associations and governments on a broad range of international trade and investment matters including customs laws, transfer pricing, trade sanctions, import and export controls, foreign corruption laws, government procurement and trade and investment disputes.

His litigation experience includes acting in the first two investment arbitrations under Canada's BITs involving claims of US$600 million andUS$80 million. He was also involved in two of the earliest WTO proceedings concerning Canada.

Mr Dattu has been counsel in more than 45 Canadian and international trade remedies proceedings, 13 challenges to NAFTA Panels (including one-third of all Canadian proceedings that were completed) and 20 cases before the Federal Court.

Within Canada, he has been lead counsel in most of the significant trade remedies cases litigated in the past 20 years, and has argued landmark cases before NAFTA panels and the Federal Court concerning both procedural and substantive issues. In addition to acting as lead counsel in several of the most complex cases concerning steel and building materials, he has represented clients in cases involving many other commodities including agricultural, industrial and consumer products. He successfully acted for a subsidiary of GE in one of the largest and most intricate anti-dumping cases in Canada concerning refrigerators, dishwashers and clothes dryers.

Recently, Mr Dattu has been lead counsel in the safeguards, countervailing and anti-dumping cases that have targeted Chinese exports, and has achieved successful results for Canada's largest hardware retailer. He has also prevailed in having the Canadian authorities use market economy rules for bicycles exported from China.