Ramos, Ripoll & Schuster

The practice at Ramos, Ripoll & Schuster , which already boasted the presence of veteran practitioner Edmundo Elías Fernández, was notably bolstered in August 2023 with the hire of well-known market figure Mario Jorge Yañez, who arrived from Hogan Lovells bringing senior associate Brianda Ramírez Cordero with him. Operating from Guadalajara, Mexico City and the firm’s newly established Monterrey office, the practice regularly handles matters including FTAs, imports/export issues (including tariff classification, antidumping, customs valuation, rules of origin, and tariff & non-tariff regulations and restrictions); regulatory matters; labelling and commercial information compliance; export controls; licenses and/or permits; customs litigation; and trade and customs compliance and audits. Dividing his time between Mexico City and Guadalajara, Elías Fernández has over 35 years’ experience and handles the gamut of IT&C matters –  particularly in relation to the maquiladora sector, pharma & life sciences, and the automotive, consumer-products and IT industries. In Monterrey, Yañez’s broad practice takes in M&A, project finance, real estate, and energy and natural resources, as well as international trade, where he has particular expertise defendng clients subject to unfair trade practices’ investigations in Mexico. Key associate support is provided by Ramírez Cordero (particularly regarding foreign trade authorisation matters before before Mexico’s Tax Administration Service, the National Customs Brokers Agency and the Ministry of Economy); and fellow senior Daniel Torres-Güémez (in Guadalajara), who focuses on manufacturing programs; customs planning, valuation and compliance; special import programs, tariff classification and rules of origin, among other matters.