Dr. Dylan Geraets

Counsel, Mayer Brown

Dylan advises clients on a wide range of global trade issues. His practice focuses on international dispute settlement, trade defence measures, customs rules, trade negotiations, sanctions, and export controls. Dylan represents clients in WTO dispute settlement proceedings and proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union. He is recognized by The Legal 500 as a “Key Lawyer” in 2023, as well as by Who’s Who Legal (WWL) in 2022 as “Recommended: Trade & Customs.”

Dylan is experienced in advising and representing both multinational companies and sovereigns in respect of proceedings before WTO panels and the Appellate Body. In addition, he assists clients across industries in trade remedy investigations, such as anti-dumping and safeguard investigations. In this context, he has been involved in several cases before the Court of Justice of the European Union.

On a daily basis, Dylan advises on the interpretation of rules and procedures impacting trade in goods and services. This includes the provision of advice on customs matters such as rules of origin, tariff classification, customs valuation, and the applicability of special custom procedures. In this regard, he regularly counsels clients in respect of proceedings before customs and other relevant authorities of EU Member States.

Dylan regularly advises on the implications of the EU’s export control regime in relation to certain dual-use goods and other sanctioned items. In addition, he guides clients in respect of their day-to-day sanctions compliance efforts under the EU sanctions regimes, as well as with respect to the implementation of sanctions imposed by the United Nations.

Dylan also regularly advises on novel regulatory issues, including ESG-related matters such as supply chain due diligence, forced labour, and environmental issues including deforestation, the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), as well as EU instruments adopted or negotiated as part of the push for “Strategic Autonomy”, such as the FDI Screening Regulation, the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, and the Anti-Coercion Instrument.

In 2022, Dylan was appointed as Professor of International Trade and Investment Law at the University of Antwerp. He is a Member of the Academic Board of the ELSA John H Jackson Moot Court Competition on WTO Law and of the Society of International Economic Law (SIEL). Dylan regularly speaks at international conferences, such as the SIEL Global Conference and the BIICL Annual Conference on WTO law. His research has been published in the Journal of International Economic Law, the World Trade Review, the Journal of World Trade, and the Global Trade and Customs Journal.

Prior to joining Mayer Brown in 2015, Dylan was a PhD candidate at KU Leuven (Belgium). His doctoral dissertation entitled “Accession to the World Trade Organization: A Legal and Normative Analysis” was published in 2018 by Edward Elgar Publishing. In early 2016, Dylan gained valuable experience in the Appellate Body Secretariat of the WTO. Earlier in his career, he served at the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economic Affairs of The Kingdom of The Netherlands as a trade policy advisor based at the Permanent Representation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the WTO in Geneva.

Dylan is fluent in English and German in addition to his native Dutch.

Contributed to

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EU carbon border adjustment mechanism (EU CBAM)

Practice Notes

This Practice Note covers the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2023/956 of 10 May 2023 establishing the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism (the EU CBAM Regulation). The EU CBAM establishes equivalent rules to those imposed by the EU emissions trading system (ETS) for goods with high embedded greenhouse gas emissions being imported into the EU. This Practice Note covers the scope of the EU CBAM, the transition period reporting requirements, and the obligations to submit CBAM declarations and surrender CBAM certificates as applicable from 2026 onwards. It also provides practical guidance on the calculation of embedded emissions, the administration of the CBAM via registries, and the consequences of non-compliance. This Practice Note also covers proposals for reform of the EU CBAM pursuant to the omnibus simplification package, as published in February 2025.

EU Law

The EU Forced Labour Regulation

Practice Notes

This Practice Notes discusses Regulation (EU) 2024/3015 on prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market (the EU Forced Labour Regulation). It covers background information and the broader regulatory framework addressing human rights in cross-border supply chains, the scope of the Regulation and its application, the role of the competent authorities, the investigation process which aims to identify and address products made with forced labour before they enter, or if already present, to remove them from the EU market. The Practice Note explains the content of the decisions issued at the end of the investigation process, the enforcement provisions, the consequences for economic operators as well as the Union Network Against Forced Labour Products, the database of forced labour risks areas or products, the single information submission point and the Forced Labour Single Portal, which are established by the Regulation.

EU Law