I am regularly linking my research with policy-oriented work at various levels, participating in legislative processes and litigation, giving legal advice to governments, international organizations and NGOs, training officials and, more generally, writing policy pieces.
official submissions and policy impact
2021. (with other authors), “Subsidy Control – Designing a New Approach for the UK – Response to Public Consultations”, submission to the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, consultation on the proposed subsidy control system, March 31
In preparing the Impact Assessment preceding the public consultation (February 11, 2001), the Department for Business made use of my work on subsidies (and in particular Rubini (2015) Rethinking International Subsidy Disciplines).
2020. (with other authors), submission to the European Commission in the context of the public consultation on the White Paper on on Levelling the Playing Field as Regards Foreign Subsidies, September 24
In its subsequent Impact Assessment Report (dated May 5, 2021) the Commission acknowledges it has used various sources in its preparation (see pp. 79-80). In doing so, it explicitly lists few of them, including one academic piece only – an old piece I co-authored with Gary Hufbauer and Thomas Moll (2008).
2013. Amicus curiae brief submitted to Appellate Body of the WTO in the context of the disputes: Canada – Certain Measures Affecting the Renewable Energy Generation Sector (WT/DS412) and Canada – Measures Relating to the Feed-In Tariff Program (WT/DS412, WT/DS426), 12 March 2013
2012. The WTO Panel Report, China – Countervailing and anti-dumping duties on grain oriented flat-rolled electrical steel from the United States (“China – GOES”), WT/DS414/R, footnote 104 to paragraph 7.86) cited my 2010 OUP monograph. Academic citations are extremely rare in WTO jurisprudence.
expert testimony
2020. Evidence given to the House of Lords, EU Internal Market Sub-Committee, March 12. The evidence focused on the level-playing-field mechanism in the context of the EU and the UK trade negotiations. Many points and suggestions submitted in the evidence sere incorporated in the letter sent by Baroness Donaghy to Mr Paul Scully MP, Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on April 3, 2020
policy dialogue and research
2016-2020. I was part of the ‘Deep Integration’ Project of the World Bank, being specifically responsible for creating two datasets mapping the provisions on subsidies and state enterprises in more than 280 preferential trade agreements.
2012-2016. I participated in the prestigious E-15 Initiative that “convenes world-class experts and institutions to generate strategic analysis and recommendations for government, business and civil society geared towards strengthening the global trade system”. I was in particular responsible for subsidy issues of the sectoral ‘Clean Energy Technologies’ group, and a core member of the horizontal Task Force on ‘Rethinking Subsidy Disciplines’.
policy papers and reports
2023. (with Martha Andhow and Andrea Biondi) Regulating for a sustainable and resilient single market: Challenges and reforms in the areas of state aid, competition, and public procurement law, Brussels, European Trade Union Institute, pp. 69-91
2023. Are transnational subsidies regulated by EU and WTO law? : the General Court has spoken (Case T-480/20 and Case T-540/20), EUI, RSC, Policy Paper, 2023/09, Global Governance Programme
2015. Rethinking International Subsidy Disciplines Analytical Paper on Rationale and Possible Avenues of Reform. E-15 Initiative, Analytical paper for the ‘Review of Subsidy Disciplines’ group, September 2015, Geneva, 21 pp.
2013. Does it FIT? An assessment of the effectiveness of renewable energy measures and of the implications of the Canada – Renewable Energy/FIT disputes (with Aaron Cosbey), E-15 Initiative, October, Geneva, 10
2012. “Climate Change Subsidies in the WTO: Few Notes for Law Reform” in Think Pieces for 2012 Bridges China Dialogue – Perspectives on China and Sustainability, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), 35-40 (English and Chinese)
2011. The Allocation of Emission Allowances Free of Charge: Legal and Economic Considerations(with Ingrid Jegou) International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), Issue Paper 14/2011, Programme on Competitiveness and Sustainable Development, Geneva, August, xi + 62
2009. Swamped by Subsidies: Averting a US-EU Trade War After the Great Crisis (with Gary Hufbauer and Yee Wong), mimeo, 4th August 2009, 30 pp.
2009. Level Playing Field for European Defence Industries: The Role of Ownership and Public Aid Practices, report commissioned by the European Defence Agency (with other authors) 174
2009. Investment Subsidies for Cross-Border M&A: Trends and Policy Implications, United States Council for International Business Foundation, New York, 2008 (with Gary Hufbauer and Thomas Moll) 21
advice and training
I have wide-ranging experience in providing legal advice and training on international and EU matters to various governments, international organizations and NGOs.
arbitrator and trade sustainability expert, EU trade agreements
2022. In July the European Commission Included me in the pool of individuals eligible for appointment as both arbitrators for trade and sustainable development (TSD) experts in bilateral disputes under trade agreements with third countries.
professional qualifications and affiliations
2000. Solicitor of England and Wales (non-practising), Solicitors Regulatory Authority (‘SRA’)
1998. Avvocato, Milan Bar (non-practising, registered in the special Roll of full-time academics)
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