Team

• Bertrand RAGER, has a long experience of advising companies in many countries operating internationally on the optimisation of their customs organisation and costs, their indirect tax charges and their level of compliance -particularly in terms of export control- and security in the management, including electronic management, of their international flows of goods and services.
• After working at E & Y and then Arthur Andersen, Bertrand was pan-European VAT and CUSTOMS Director at the Delphi Automotive Systems group.
• He is an international corporate lawyer, and is involved in consultations, audits and litigation both in France and the EMEA zone.
• Founder of Custax & Legal, he operates globally via the worldwide TTA network of independent experts in export control and customs, of which he is a member since its inception, and via a European network of VAT specialists.
• In his free time Bertrand, a music lover, reads a lot, swims, and saves time for his wife, his three children and three grand-children.

Qualifications

• Tax & Customs Lawyer since 1991,
• Master in economics (thesis on Sogo Shoshas)
• Qualified Chartered Accountant

Engagements

French counsellor for foreign trade, member of customs think-tanks both In England and Germany, member of French SIEPS and ODASCE; Bertrand also chairs the International Commission of the FIEEC and teaches Customs law in Ireland

Languages

English, German & French

A graduate of the École Supérieure d’Électronique de l’Armée de Terre and the UTC in Compiègne, Arnaud IDIART started by a 28-year military career, including seven years at the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA), where he was responsible for controlling France’s military exports.

Arnaud IDIART is a well-recognised expert in export control. 

Arnaud then spent 16 years at the Airbus headquarters, during which he structured and developed the Group’s international export control function, founded and chaired the International Export Control Committee of the Groupement des Industries Françaises Aéronautiques et Spatiales (GIFAS), which he represented at the “Aerospace, Security and Defence” (ASD), the E.U aerospace industrial grouping, in Brussels.

As trainer and teacher, Arnaud is referenced by two French institutions specialising in Customs/Export Control vocational training: ODASCE and ED EDITIONS (CONEX Group). He is also a lecturer at the “University of Paris-Saclay” (IDEST), the “Sorbonne/Paris-I (“School of Economics) and the “CY Cergy Paris Université”.

• Qualification

• Graduate of the École Supérieure d’Électronique de l’Armée de Terre, 
• Graduate of UTC Compiègne in “Information Management” and Expert in Export Control and Industrial Security

• Main publications 

• 2016 – “Export Control Law and Regulations Handbook: A Practical Guide to Military and Dual-Use Goods, Trade Restrictions and Compliance”. 3ème édition (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
• 2017 – “The role of intangible transfer of technology in the area of ballistic missiles. “Strengthening the Hague Code of Conduct and the MTCR ”  (Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique – FRS).

• Engagements

• Expert consultant pour le Groupe EXPERT CONNECT (https://www.experconnect.com)
• Membre du SYNDICAT des INDUSTRIES EXPORTATRICES de PRODUITS STRATÉGIQUES (à la Fédération des Industries Électriques, Électroniques et de Communication – FIEEC/SIEPS)

• Languages

• French, 
• English

Ms. Kaplan has extensive experience in advising U.S. and non-U.S. entities on U.S. export-control regulations for satellites, launchers, Space services, military aircraft and electronics, communications, and advanced microelectronics.

Ms. Kaplan provides expert advice and guidance on U.S. regulations: military (ITAR), dual-use (EAR) and sanctions (OFAC), such as product jurisdiction and classification, Technology Control Plans, De minimis and Foreign Direct Product Rule analysis, authorizations preparation and implementation, use of exemption and exceptions, deemed export and reexport for diverse work force, training, investigation, remediation and disclosures.

Ms. Kaplan started her career as an electro-mechanical engineer and program manager in France and the U.S. and has over 38 years’ experience as an engineer and Trade Compliance professional.  Ms. Kaplan developed extensive expertise in U.S. Trade compliance in various functions, and in particular as Vice-President Affiliate Trade Compliance of the large transatlantic DOD contractor Airbus Space and Defense Inc. from 2011 to 2021, and as consultant since. 

Ms. Kaplan is Chair of the Space Working Group and a member of the U.S. Department of Commerce Technical Advisory Committee (TRANSTAC) on export control regulations related to Space and transportation. 

Ms. Kaplan co-authored the U.S. chapter of the third edition of the Walters Kluwer “Export Control Law and Regulations handbook” and will be co-editor to its fourth edition. 

She speaks French and English.

Born into a family of lawyers, Thérèse studied law at the University of Nanterre where she joined for a year the dual degree in French and Anglo-American law.

Hesitating between her family heritage and her passion for French cooking and catering, she became a student and obtained a master’s degree from the prestigious VATEL school in Lyon. After a decade of management and executive positions in various establishments.

Thérèse blossoms as a full member of C&L team by combining intellectual rigour, a sense of service and excellent interpersonal skills to take on each of the missions entrusted to her. As a mother of two children, Thérèse also uses organisation as a second language.

In her spare time, Thérèse enjoys sewing and cooking.

Thérèse speaks French and English.

After obtaining her baccalaureate from the Lycée militaire de Saint-Cyr, Léa Ratel pursued her studies in private law at the Université Paris-Saclay – Faculté Jean Monnet, where she earned her bachelor’s degree. There, she developed a particular interest in tax law, digital law, intellectual property, and corporate law.

Through several internships in law firms and within legal departments—including at VINCI Construction France—she gained experience in drafting documents, contractual analysis, and business law.

Her interest in sectors at the intersection of law, technological innovation, and geopolitical issues led her to enroll in the Master’s 2 program in Aerospace and Telecommunications Law (DAST) at the Université Paris-Saclay, which she is currently pursuing as a work-study student.

Following an initial internship in spring 2024, she joined Custax & Legal on a work-study program to specialize in export control. There, she is currently honing her expertise in compliance, dual technologies, and international regulations.

Admitted to the CRFPA (French Competition for Lawyers) in 2024, Léa will join the HEDAC Law School in January 2026, upon completion of her Master’s degree. Rigorous, curious, and resolutely focused on contemporary strategic issues, she aims to pursue her career in the aeronautics, aerospace, or defense sectors, within specialized firms or in the legal departments of major players in these fields.

Languages:

French, English