Martín Gustavo Ibarra Pardo

Practice Areas

Socio economist lawyer from Universidad Javeriana in Colombia. He has a master in comparative law from University of Texas and in Exports Promotion from ICE in Italy. He is a a renowned lawyer in Latin America in the fields of international trade, free trade zones and national and international arbitration.

He has a wide experience in free zones development and in international economic law. The Free Zones he has sponsored in Colombia generate together more than 30.000 direct jobs.

Career

Managing Partner and CEO of the firm, and one of the most renowned strategists in international trade.

For 50 years he has advised regional and national companies; and governments in the adoption of action plans to be successful in a globalized world.

Knowledgeable in rescue mechanisms of companies, he’s an authority in the application of correctives to avoid acts of unfair competition in international trade, such as dumping, countervailing duties, safeguard clauses, and technical regulations.

He has led the development of the free zone regime in China and different countries around the world. In addition, he has collaborated in the design of the foreign trade legislation of most Latin American countries.

He collaborated in the restructuring of foreign trade and customs mechanisms in countries such as the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Peru, Congo, Nicaragua, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Tanzania, among others.

He was an adviser in the creation of the Ministry of Foreign Trade in Colombia in 1991. In Colombia he has been a co-promoter of some of the most successful free trade zones (FTZ), such as Bogotá FTZ, La Candelaria FTZ (Cartagena), Pacific FTZ (Valle del Cauca), Tayrona FTZ (Santa Marta), Central FTZ (Cartagena), and Santander FTZ (Bucaramanga).

In terms of Free Zones, he has not only collaborated in its creation, but also in the elaboration of strategic and commercial plans, and international and national promotion of these zones.

He also continues to serve as president of the firm Araujo Ibarra International Trade Consultants, vice-president of the WFZO, honorary president of the AZFA and in 2020 he was appointed as a member of the Pacific Alliance Business Council, year in which Colombia received the Pro-tempore presidency of the regional integration mechanism.

Professional Memberships

Mr. Ibarra participated in the creation of the World Free Zone Organization (WFZO), for which he works as Vice-Chairman. He is also honorary president of the Free Zone Organization of the Americas (AZFA).

In 2015, the Colombian National Academy of Jurisprudence, taking into consideration Mr. Ibarra’s works related to international trade and free zones, awarded him with the honour of becoming a scholar and member of this prestigious institution.

In 2020 he was appointed as a member of the Pacific Alliance Business Council, year in which Colombia received the Pro-tempore presidency of the regional integration mechanism.

Languages Spoken

Spanish and English

Work Highlights

Martin was the coordinator of the World Free Zone Organization’s Annual International Conference and Exhibition (AICE). This conference was deemed the world’s largest as it hosted more than 900 delegates from 70 countries.

He also coordinated the Minister’s Panel of the Free Zone Organization of the Americas’ (AZFA) XXI Annual Conference. He held a presentation on Latin-American and African Integration through the Atlantic.

In 2019, Martin was a Speaker at the V World Summit of Free Zones in Barcelona and at the first international conference of special economic zones in New Delhi, India. In addition, he presided in Paris the policy committee of the WFZO with the purpose of initiating a joint action with the OECD against illegal trade.

Martin Gustavo Ibarra in 2020 participated and was special guest of digital conferences at international level where he delved into the new trends of international trade that have been driven by the effects of covid-19, under the auspices of regional, global organizations and events such as the AZFA, the WFZO, the Barcelona New Economy Week, and the Pacific Alliance.

In addition, regarding local litigation in Colombia, successful cases like the approval of a safeguard that was sued to place an 89% tax on powdered milk and the obtaining of a non-reduction of 10% of Colombian steel that saved the surgical industry outstand in Martin's 2021 legal work.

Furthermore, some relevant digital conferences in which Mr. Ibarra was a special guest exposing the new trends of international trade were under the sponsorship and organization of such institutions as AZFA, the WFZO, the Barcelona New Economy Week and International Development Bank (IDB). Moreover, he has been a speaker in webinars promoted in countries such as the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Costa Rica among others.

Finally, and most important, Martin Ibarra, participated in the board of the World Free Zones Organization (WFZO) in Geneva, Switzerland addressed in November 2021, and in Dubai, addressed in June 2023. The board recognized the great role of the Free Zones as an instrument to channel foreign direct investment and receive the new regional value chains.

In addition, a defense strategy was prepared for the CODEVI Free Zone and the Association of Industries of Haiti. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is encouraging the government of Haiti on eliminating the free zone regime with the sole argument that this regime creates unfair competition in-between the firms. This strategy is being developed alongside AZFA and the American Chamber of Commerce of the Dominican Republic.

As for international consulting services and probono cases, Mr. Ibarra developed many international projects that became its core for 2022. One of the most important ones was the one held and done for Curinde, Curaçao’s free zone operator. This work encompassed two modules: First, the development of an economic strategy in which the country’s free zones were the channels.

With the handling of successful international cases such as the extension of the concession of a Free Trade Zone in Chile and the proposal of ecommerce regulation in El Salvador, Martin positioned himself once more as one of the top lawyers in international trade.

Furthermore, Martin Ibarra was a main stakeholder in the discussion of tax reform in Colombia. Explaining the reasons and economic benefits about having a competitive free zone regime to different congressmen and government policy makers was one of his key priorities. This, in order to safeguard the corporate and VAT incentives that the regime currently has till this very day.

Expert in these Jurisdictions

Martin has collaborated in the restructuring of foreign trade and customs mechanisms in countries such as the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Peru, Congo, Nicaragua, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia, among others.

Education