Commercially minded legal advice for Transport, Trade and Supply-chain matters
Global trade and transport operations are shaped by increasingly complex commercial, regulatory and operational frameworks. Our Industry Group Shipping and Trading advises Swiss and international clients on legal issues across the trading, logistics, transport and supply-chain landscape. We combine legal expertise with practical industry insight to deliver clear, business-focused solutions in fast-moving markets.
Switzerland remains a key hub for trading and logistics activities, with several regions playing a central role in international trade and commodity-related business. In this context, we offer a strong Swiss alternative: responsive, cost-conscious and closely aligned with our clients’ commercial objectives. Our work covers contract and corporate law, regulatory and compliance matters, insurance, as well as dispute resolution, including arbitration.
Contact Partner: Anton Vucurovic, Alexander Blarer
At Bratschi, we advise and represent clients in international arbitration matters where sanctions regimes affect the proceedings, the parties, or the underlying dispute.
Summary
Sanctions risk is not a specialist issue sitting at the edge of a transaction. In trading, it now runs through the deal itself. It affects counterparties, vessel ownership, payment routes, insurers, cargo movements, and the documents that support performance. A clause saying that each party will comply with applicable sanctions laws may still be necessary, but it is no longer sufficient. Switzerland’s sanctions framework is rooted in the Embargo Act, and SECO remains the central authority for sanctions and embargo measures.
Trading businesses can fail because they treat it as a legal concept instead of an operational one. The problem is often the gap between what the paper says and what the business actually checks, records, escalates, and controls. SECO’s own guidance and tools reflect that point by focusing on screening, counterparties, end use, and internal compliance processes.
Swiss counsel can support here because the value lies in translating legal risk into workable contractual and operational steps.
Summary
Switzerland remains a strong trading hub. It offers political stability, legal certainty, sophisticated financing and insurance infrastructure, and a dispute-resolution framework that market participants know and trust. Swiss law also remains attractive because it is predictable, flexible, and well suited to cross-border commercial contracts.
But Switzerland is not a frictionless base for trading activity. Sanctions compliance, transparency expectations, and reputational pressure have become more important.