Shanker A. Singham focuses his practice on the areas of market access, international trade and competition policy. He advises global companies and national government on trade, competition, regulatory and economic integration issues.

A native of London and citizen of both the UK and United States, Shanker is a US and European competition and trade lawyer who began his career in London with Cameron McKenna. Shanker was an issue leader on the Transatlantic Business Dialogue, with responsibility for EU-US partnering. He is chair of the International Roundtable on Trade and Competition Policy, Inc. (Roundtable), a not-for-profit foundation dedicated to ensuring a better understanding of trade and competition issues by governments around the world, which is an NGO accredited to participate in WTO ministerial meetings.

In his practice he regularly interfaces with US and European government officials including the United States Trade Representative, Department of Commerce and National Security Council as well as the European Commission Directorate-Generals for Trade, External Affairs and Competition. He also works with members of Congress and their staffs on trade, competition policy and sanctions issues.

Shanker has lectured on competition and trade issues around the world. He has also taught trade negotiators from around the world through courses in international trade for trade ministers from the Western Hemisphere (SOAC Center, Miami, 2001-2006), and through the work he does on behalf of the Roundtable, where he has engaged the governments of China, Japan, India, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Argentina, the Caribbean, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Laos, Hungary and Estonia on international economic integration and regulatory/competition matters. He has been selected by the State Department to conduct missions on economic regulatory matters to a number of countries. He is a non-governmental advisor to a number of inter-governmental organizations including the International Competition Network (ICN).

A frequent speaker and author, Shanker has addressed Wilton Park Conference, Commonwealth Trade Forum (University of London), the International Business Leaders’ Forum, Royal Institute of International Affairs, the Inter-American Dialogue, University of London, Euro Finance Conference, Oxford Analytica International Conference and the World Economic Forum. He is the author of the leading textbook on the linkages between domestic regulatory environments, competition and trade, A General Theory of Trade and Competition (Cameron, May 2007), which is widely used by government officials around the world, and has written extensively on these subjects. He is frequently quoted in the media on trade and competition issues including The Economist, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Wired Magazine and Time.

Shanker is included in Euromoney’s Guide to the World’s Leading International Trade Lawyers and the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. In 2006 Mr. Singham was appointed to the Council on Foreign Relations WTO Dispute Settlement Advisory Commission. He has advised on a number of Council on Foreign Relations special commissions, as well as serving on the Council of Americas’ Trade Advisory Group. His Latin American expertise has been widely recognized. In 2006 he was selected by his peers as a Florida Super Lawyer – one of the top five percent of lawyers in the state – for his international and antitrust litigation work. He was recognized in 2006 by Latin Lawyer magazine as one of 16 “Leading Miami-Based Latin American Focused Practitioners.”

Representative Experience

• Advising clients on a range of WTO agreements including the Government Procurement Code, Basic Telecommunications Agreement, GATT, GATS, WTO Agreement on Agriculture, TRIPS and on the network of regional trade agreements.
• Advising public and private sector groups on inter-governmental negotiations in the area of international economic law including the negotiations between the EU and US to set up a Transatlantic Economic Council, and negotiations regarding the creation of a secretariat for the Free Trade Area of the Americas.
• Advising clients on regulatory issues and their connection with international trade and competition obligations.
• Counseling non-US governments on international trade policy by assisting in drafting of competition policies for non-US governments.
• Advising clients on US sanctions legislation including the Helms-Burton Act, customs regulations and Foreign Trade Zone Board applications.
• Counseling on US and international antitrust issues related to conduct and merger analyses including multijurisdictional merger review.