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Dubai, UAE – Leading global law firm Baker McKenzie recently hosted workshops in Dubai and Abu Dhabi on how companies operating in the Middle East can manage increasingly complex trade compliance risks and optimize supply chains in the context of constantly evolving geopolitical and macroeconomic landscapes.
The workshops were led by senior Baker McKenzie lawyers and centred around regulatory and commercial challenges facing local and multinational companies conducting trading and logistics activities in the region and how they are rethinking their supply chain model across multiple jurisdictions. Over 110 executives from leading corporates and major financial institutions joined in discussions around:
• the impact of global trends on businesses and supply chains in the Middle East;
• challenges in the supply chain;
• the impact of embargoes and trade sanctions;
• mitigating third-party risk;
• planning and optimizing supply chains; and
• managing customs and tax compliance (including the recently introduced VAT regime in the UAE and Saudi Arabia).
A survey of the participants revealed that the majority found selecting intermediaries and screening third parties and users to be the greatest challenge faced in the supply chain, followed by regulatory approval and imports and exports.
“Businesses in the Middle East are heavily impacted by an increasingly complex global environment and are trying to keep up with constantly-evolving regional regulatory frameworks,” said Borys Dackiw, UAE Head of Compliance at Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla. "Our clients are grappling with the extra-territorial reach of US and EU sanctions regimes, embargoes, demands for additional transparency from banks at the forefront of sanctions compliance, and greater government scrutiny with the introduction of value added tax in the GCC. Accordingly, businesses have to think more holistically about trade and supply chain risks and think of it in the context of overall enterprise risk."
Mattias Hedwall, Baker McKenzie's Global Head of International Trade, based in Stockholm, added, "Given that 90% of all goods that enter the UAE do not stay there, it is particularly important that companies in this region proactively manage the complexities of moving goods across borders. The third party relationships that businesses rely on heavily in the GCC can result in cost-savings but are frequently also a source of compliance risk. Having access rights to audit and monitor your supply chain will greatly mitigate your third party risks."
The workshop panellists comprised corporate/compliance partners Borys Dackiw (UAE), Zahi Younes (UAE/KSA), Mattias Hedwall (Sweden) and Ryan Fayhee (US), as well as Senior Tax Counsel Reggie Mezu (UAE).
Further information and an up-to-date sanctions blog are available at:
https://www.bakermckenzie.com/en/expertise/practices/international-commercial-trade
http://sanctionsnews.bakermckenzie.com/
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Baker McKenzie's International Commercial & Trade lawyers help clients keep up with rapidly changing, often conflicting import, export and trade regulations that impact cross-border trade transactions and activities. Our areas of expertise include export controls, export clearance provisions, anti-boycott controls, outbound trade compliance, VAT/indirect taxes, product safety, strategic sourcing, supply chain security and trade remedies.
About Baker McKenzie
Baker McKenzie helps clients overcome the challenges of competing in the global economy. We solve complex legal problems across borders and practice areas. Our unique culture, developed over 65 years, enables our 13,000 people to understand local markets and navigate multiple jurisdictions, working together as trusted colleagues and friends to instill confidence in our clients. (www.bakermckenzie.com)
About Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla
Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla brings over 30 years’ local know-how and extensive global resources to clients in the region, and is the only international law firm in the UAE with full rights of audience before all UAE and DIFC courts. We deliver unmatched on-the-ground support that reflects a deep understanding of local legal, regulatory and commercial practices. Our multidisciplinary team of 60 lawyers offers a full range of local and international legal advice across our offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, in both English and Arabic.
