Dr Akhil Raina

Dr. Akhil Raina has been involved in international economic law practice, research, and academia for over a decade. He is a qualified lawyer in India, and is registered with the Brussels bar. Akhil practices law at VVGB Advocaten, where he represents sovereign governments in WTO and FTA disputes. He has experience in litigating all three types of trade remedies (anti-dumping, anti-subsidy, and safeguards) at the state-to-state level. Akhil also represents governments and multinational companies in trade remedy investigations in Europe and Asia, covering diverse sectors such as industrial, consumer, and high-tech products. Akhil also assists VVGB Advocaten in representing clients before EU courts, and advises national authorities on a wide range of legal and policy issues relating to their trade remedy investigations. He also advises governments on general regulation and trade policy, arbitration, and matters of public international law.

Currently, Akhil is co-counsel for Indonesia in EU – CVD/AD on SSCRFP (Indonesia). Previously, he was co-counsel for China in China – AD/CVD on Wine (Australia), and for the EU in the bilateral dispute under the Economic Partnership Agreement, SACU – Safeguard Measure on Bone-in Chicken Cuts. Akhil’s experience in representing clients in EU trade remedy investigations cover cases such as: Battery Electric Vehicles, Polyvinyl Chloride, Titanium Dioxide, Optical Fibre Cables, Corrosion Resistant Steels, and the Steel Safeguards. Other jurisdictions in which Akhil has worked on trade remedies are India, Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

Akhil continues to be involved in academia, having previously taught trade law at the graduate and postgraduate levels in India and Belgium. Akhil’s work has been published in the Cambridge International Law Journal, the Journal of World Trade, the International Trade Law Review, the Global Trade and Customs Journal, and the Indian Journal of International Economic Law. He regularly coaches/mentors university students for the ELSA / John H. Jackson moot court competition, and has been a mentor associated with the legal NGO, TradeLab.

Prior to joining VVGB Advocaten, Akhil worked with law firms and government institutions in New Delhi; and with the WTO and WTI Advisors in Geneva. During this time, he also advised two government ministries on economic law matters.

Akhil holds bachelor's degrees in science and law from National Law University, Jodhpur (India), and a master's degree in international economic law and policy (IELPO LL.M.) from Universidad de Barcelona (Spain). He received his LL.M. degree as an ELSA Scholar. In 2022, he received his PhD in international law from KU Leuven (Belgium), as a Marie S. Curie Fellow. His dissertation, on compliance with WTO rulings, was unanimously passed by the doctoral jury, without changes (best possible outcome).