Steptoe

Steptoe LLP is a US-headquartered international law firm with offices in Washington DC, Brussels, London and Beijing, founded in 1940. Its practice covers international trade, sanctions, regulatory compliance and dispute resolution, with a substantial transatlantic docket advising multinational corporations on EU and US regulatory exposure. Steptoe's Brussels office handles EU competition, DMA compliance and trade-policy monitoring, giving it direct sight of Commission legislative developments.

Steptoe published analysis in May-June 2026 warning that CAIDA's proposed 'Buy European' tilt in public procurement (requiring preference for European cloud providers in health, finance, judicial and energy tenders) threatens the Turnberry trade truce between the EU and the United States. The firm estimated US firms face USD 50 billion per year in combined DMA and DSA compliance costs across the EU, and argued that adding procurement preference on top of that would constitute a trade barrier sufficient to trigger retaliatory Section 301 action . Steptoe's analysis was circulated among member-state trade ministries as one of several external legal opinions influencing the College's repeated deferrals of the package.

Steptoe's sanctions practice separately advises on Russia-related OFAC licensing. Its counsel read the eighth consecutive monthly rollover of the GL 131 series , General License 131H, extending Lukoil International GmbH's asset-sale negotiation window to 22 August 2026, as evidence that Lukoil International's own portfolio had not yet found a confirmed buyer, since OFAC renews a negotiation window only while talks remain open and would instead issue a one-off transaction licence for a completed sale. The firm's transatlantic docket now spans both EU procurement policy and US Russia-sanctions licensing, positioning it as a first-call adviser for corporates navigating overlapping European and American regulatory regimes.