Biography: Trade & Customs

Andrew W Shoyer is a partner in the Washington, DC, office of Sidley Austin LLP and chairs the firm's international trade and dispute resolution practice. Mr Shoyer focuses on the implementation and enforcement of international trade and investment agreements. Drawing on his experience at the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) and with the WTO, Mr Shoyer advises companies, trade associations and governments on the use of WTO, NAFTA and other treaty-based trade and investment rules in order 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. He has also assisted a global telecommunications services supplier in WTO dispute settlement proceedings to combat unfair conditions of competition in Mexico.

Mr Shoyer spent seven years at USTR, serving most recently as legal adviser in the US mission to the WTO in Geneva. He was the US principal negotiator 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, Mr Shoyer was assistant general counsel at USTR in Washington, DC, 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 Congress and the economic agencies of the executive branch.

Mr Shoyer is an adjunct faculty member in international trade policy at the School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University. He has authored many articles on various aspects of international trade and customs law. His memberships and affiliations include: US Department of State advisory committee on international economic policy (2007 to 2009); US-China Business Council (Legal Counsel, 2002 to present); and the American Society of International Law. He received his JD from Georgetown University Law Center in 1986, his MS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 1986 and his BA from the University of Pennsylvania in 1981. He is admitted in the District of Columbia.