Chris Bryant
Chris is a partner based in the London and Brussels offices of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. He has over 15 years' experience advising on UK & EU competition law, international trade law, and EU regulatory issues and processes.
Chris heads the firm's Tier 1 ranked Brexit taskforce and is one of the leading experts and media commentators on the subject. He has worked with clients across virtually all sectors of the economy, including financial services, automotive, retail, chemicals and telecoms in relation to their Brexit planning. His work has included scenario and contingency planning, providing legal and political insights and helping clients to formulate strategies for influencing the UK and EU governments.
Chris has provided commentary for the BBC, Financial Times, Daily Telegraph and Reuters amongst many others. In addition to advising on some very significant Brexit projects for key clients, Chris Bryant has found time to write the award-winning play, 'Brexit the Musical', which played to sell-out runs in Edinburgh and London.
In addition, Chris has represented clients in some of the world's largest competition and trade investigations, as well as in related litigation.
Chris is described in Legal 500 2017 as 'experienced', 'knowledgeable', 'straightforward', and 'client-friendly'.
Practice Areas
Panel
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 2003
Membership
- Solicitor, Law Society of England & Wales
Education
- MA. European Union Law - King's College London (2008)
- LL.B, English Law & French Law - University of Manchester (2000)
5 Contributions by Chris Bryant
PRACTICE NOTES
WTO essentials for UK lawyers: agreements, principles, dispute settlement, and post‑Brexit UK schedules, tariffs and the EU‑UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement
What is the World Trade Organization (WTO)?
The WTO oversees trade agreements that regulate commerce between states. It is also a venue for governments to negotiate bilateral or multilateral trade agreements and to settle trade disputes, helping countries trade with as little friction and disruption as possible. For background reading on the WTO, see: WTO—Who we are and WTO—In brief.
The WTO came into being on 1 January 1995, though its trading rules are older. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) has provided a framework for global trade in goods since 1948, amended through successive negotiating rounds. Talks in the mid-1980s and early 1990s, known as the Uruguay Round, sought to extend the system to services and intellectual property. That round concluded with an agreement signed on 15 April 1994 by most of the 123 participating governments, which established the WTO. It has 164 members and is supported by a Secretariat in Geneva.
The WTO’s main activities are:
seeking to lower trade barriers
agreeing rules for how trade is conducted
monitoring...
Public Law
CHECKLISTS
No UK-EU trade deal: importing EU goods into the UK—WTO tariffs, customs declarations, rules of origin and VAT—lawyers’ checklist [Archived]
ARCHIVED:
This Checklist is archived and no longer maintained. Brexit: as of exit day (11 pm on 31 January 2020) the UK is no longer an EU Member State. However, in line with the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK entered an implementation period, during which EU law still applies. This affects this Checklist. It should be read with this context firmly in mind. For further guidance, see: Brexit Bulletin—key updates, research tips and resources, and the Brexit collection. On 3 February 2020, the UK and the EU set out their opening negotiating positions for a post‑Brexit UK‑EU relationship. Although the Political Declaration, appended to the Withdrawal Agreement, provides the framework for the future relationship with the EU, it is not legally binding, so either side may choose to depart from parts or all of the text. If talks on a trade agreement between the UK and the EU fail (a no trade deal Brexit), the UK’s trade with the EU would proceed on World Trade Organization (WTO) terms. This Checklist outlines the key considerations to take into account when buying goods from the EU for supply in the UK in a no trade deal scenario...
Commercial
CHECKLISTS
No‑deal Brexit: Supplying Services from the UK to the EU—Legal Checklist on Data Protection, Staff Mobility, Tax, Export Controls, IP, Competition, Sector‑specific Rules and Contracts
ARCHIVED
This Checklist is archived and is no longer maintained.
Brexit
From exit day (11 pm on 31 January 2020), the UK ceased to be an EU Member State. Under the Withdrawal Agreement, an implementation period applies during which EU law continues to govern the UK, which affects this Checklist. For further guidance, refer to Brexit Bulletin—key updates, research tips and resources—and the Brexit collection. On 3 February 2020, the UK and EU outlined their initial negotiating positions for the post‑Brexit UK‑EU relationship. Although the Political Declaration, appended to the Withdrawal Agreement, describes the framework for the future relationship, it is not legally binding, so either party may choose to move away from parts or all of it. If talks on a trade agreement between the UK and the EU do not succeed (a no trade deal Brexit), trade between the UK and the EU would default to World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms. This Checklist identifies key points a UK business should consider when providing services (including general outsourcing) to the EU from the UK in a no trade deal scenario...
Commercial
CHECKLISTS
UK procurement of EU-based services (including outsourcing) in a no-deal Brexit: legal, regulatory and contractual checklist
ARCHIVED: This Checklist has been archived and is not maintained.
Brexit: From exit day (11 pm on 31 January 2020), the UK ceased to be a Member State of the EU. Nevertheless, consistent with the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK entered an implementation period, during which it remains subject to EU law.
Accordingly, this has implications for this Checklist and its contents.
For more detail, consult the Brexit Bulletin—key updates, research tips and resources—and the Brexit collection for further support.
On 3 February 2020, the UK and the EU outlined their initial negotiating stances for the post-Brexit UK-EU relationship.
Although the Political Declaration, which sits alongside the Withdrawal Agreement, describes the framework for the future EU relationship, it carries no legal force, so either party may depart from some or all of it.
If talks on a trade deal between the UK and the EU were to collapse (a no trade deal Brexit), the UK’s commerce with the EU would default to World Trade Organization (WTO) terms...
Commercial
CHECKLISTS
UK–EU27 no-deal Brexit goods exports: legal checklist on WTO tariffs, customs declarations, EORI, VAT, CE/REACH compliance and export controls [Archived]
ARCHIVED:
This Checklist is archived and no longer maintained. Brexit: From exit day (11 pm on 31 January 2020), the UK ceased to be an EU Member State. Nonetheless, under the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK entered an implementation period during which EU law continues to apply, which affects this Checklist. For additional guidance, refer to Brexit Bulletin—key updates, research tips and resources, and the Brexit collection. On 3 February 2020, the UK and the EU published initial negotiating stances on a future UK-EU relationship after Brexit. Although the Political Declaration, which accompanies the Withdrawal Agreement, outlines the framework for future ties with the EU, it is not legally binding, so either party may decide to deviate from parts or all of it, and outcomes could therefore differ from that text. If talks on a UK-EU trade agreement fail (a no trade deal Brexit), UK-EU trade would default to World Trade Organization (WTO) terms. This Checklist highlights the principal points to consider when selling goods from the UK for supply to the EU27 in a no trade deal context...
Commercial
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