Comercia Consulting

Founding Partner: Jose Antonio de la Puente
Senior Partner: Jose Antonio de la Puente
Number of partners: 1

Firm Overview:
Comercia Consulting is a specialised firm that offers legal and economic counsel on matters related to international trade, competition policy, investment and regulation.The firm advises clients in various international trade disputes and competition policy procedures. Furthermore, the firm provides legal consultancy in antitrust proceedings, proceedings against collusive practices and abuse of dominance, implementation of preventive and mandatory compliance programs and economic counsel in pre-merger antitrust reviews.

Main Areas of Practice:

International Trade / WTO:
In its 15 years of existence, the firm has become an important player in international trade law and policy, obtaining a remarkable success record in the defence of clients in trade related cases. The firm advices clients on all kinds of trade barriers established in Peru or abroad. Comercia has successfully represented antidumping, antisubsidies and safeguards cases before authorities of Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Panama and the Andean Community. In addition, the firm has successfully advised clients and public entities on various consultancy projects related to investments protection, services, trade facilitation, and competitiveness.

Our firm stands out for its experience in the interpretation and operation of WTO Agreements and regional and bilateral FTAs having contributed with legal and economic studies in the context of arbitration or international disputes in these areas.

Our core services include:

• Advice to business groups and companies in WTO law, FTA interpretation, dispute settlement and arbitration proceedings.
• Advice on antidumping, antisubsidies and safeguards investigations in Peru and the region.
• Elaboration of legal and economic studies and expert opinions in trade policy, market access, logistics and infrastructure, among other.
• Trade facilitation and free trade zones.
• Customs procedures and tariff classification and AEO accreditation.
• Consultancy on trade policy, export promotion and development.

Competition / Antitrust:
Our firm has been a remarkable player in antitrust proceedings with an important success record. Comercia has advised and represented successfully both leading local corporations and global operators in a variety of industries including sea shipping, cement, retail and pharmacy, dairy products, engineering consultancy, printing, plastics, steel, among other.

Our core services include:

• Legal advice on antitrust violations and pre-merger review
• Assessment of situations that could involve anti-competitive behaviour
• Elaboration of comprehensive and preventive compliance programmes
• Preparation of mandatory compliance programmes ordered by INDECOPI in the context of investigations or sanctioning procedures
• Economic and legal processing and evaluation of seized evidence (such as emails and commercial information), identification of risks and defence.
• Specialized Economic studies on Antitrust: determination of relevant markets, and entry barriers on the existence of dominant position, assessment of economic evidence and defenses, analysis of fines and assessments on ways to reduce them, advising on leniency programs, among other.

International Work:

• Advice OPP Film and collaborate with MINCETUR and the Advisory Centre on WTO Law (ACWL) during the consultation process regarding antidumping measures imposed by Brazil carried out since 2021 within the framework of the dispute settlement system of the WTO.
• Successful conclusion of a two-year consultancy on market access and trade policy working for a German consultancy firm to implement a project in favor of the European Union.
• Successful representation of OPP Film in four antidumping investigations on BOPP and PET Films in Brazil and Argentina from 2015 to 2020.

Practice Areas and Offices:

• International Trade
• Competition / Antitrust
• Trade Agreements
• Antidumping, Subsidies and Safeguards
• Trade Facilitation and Customs
• Merger Control
• Consumer Law
• Intellectual Property
• Market Intelligence
• Applied Economics
• Dispute resolution: Arbitration