A group of European countries not in the EU aligned with recent sanctions decisions from the European Council under the lists of parties subject to restrictions to combat terrorism and threatening the sovereignty of Ukraine, along with the Syria sanctions regime.
The Georgian Ministry of Finance on Aug. 3 imposed an export/reexport ban on vehicles that were imported from the U.S. to Georgia to Russia and Belarus, according to an unofficial translation. The ministry also barred, effective Sept. 26, the export of vehicles to Russia with engines larger than 1,900 cubic centimeters and all electric and hybrid vehicles shipped from the EU.
The European Council on Aug. 3 added another 38 individuals and three entities to its Belarus sanctions regime, further extending export bans to cover goods for the firearms, aviation and space industry. The listings include "penitentiary officials responsible for the torture and ill-treatment of detainees," members of the judiciary, cogs of civil society and journalists, the council said.
Amendments to the Ukrainian government's sanctions legislation came into effect July 29, according to an unofficial translation. Under the alterations, the government will establish a register of sanctioned individuals and entities that includes a list of the reasons for their addition and the type of sanctions to which they are subject. The amendments also extend the deadlines for the High Anti-Corruption Court to consider appeals of asset freezes, giving the court up to 30 days after receiving the claim to consider the appeals.
The U.K.'s Department for International Trade in an Aug. 2 notice suspended the antidumping duties on hot-rolled flat iron, non-alloy or other alloy steel goods from Iran or Russia, where those products are subject to the tariff-rate quota on steel goods. The effect is that antidumping duties will be charged on items until the import quota is exceeded. After that, only a portion of the AD exceeding the safeguard duty is charged, the notice said. The duties range from 5.3% to 33% for Russian companies, and are 17.9% for Iranian companies.
The EU on Aug. 2 updated two of its Russia sanctions FAQs. The FAQs on the oil price cap now include a question on what oil is covered by the price cap and whether the measures apply to non-Russian oil cargo mixed with Russian oil. The bloc said that the measures do apply to Russian crude falling under CN code 2709.00 and Russian petroleum goods under CN code 2710.
An EU proposal to reform its customs system could make European trade “more efficient and less burdensome,” and would be “a key tool in risk analysis and risk management as a centralized data repository at the Union level,” Crowell & Moring said in an Aug. 2 client alert.
USDA is accepting applications from exporters to participate in the USA Pavilion at BioFach, the world's largest organic trade show held each year in Nuremburg, Germany. U.S. exhibitors in the pavilion display can promote a "variety of USDA organic products to visitors and buyers from around the world," the agency said in an Aug. 1 email, and is "an excellent platform to expand your business into the global organic market." BIOFACH 2024 is scheduled for Feb. 13-16, and interested parties should contact Steve Kamrass with Nurnberg Messe North America at steve.kamrass@nuernbergmesse-north-america.com.
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation issued a general license allowing payments and other permitted activities to take place related to insolvency proceedings for two Irish wings of Russian leasing firm GTLK. The two companies are GTLK Europe Designated Activity Co. and GTLK Europe Capital Designated Activity Co. Under the license, any party, including the GTLK companies or their subsidiaries, along with involved practitioners, may "make, receive or process any payments" in connection with the insolvency proceedings. The license expires at the end of the day July 31, 2025.
The U.K.'s Export Control Joint Unit updated six open general export licenses this week to reflect updates to the list of controlled dual-use items. The six licenses involve dual-use exports for repair under warranty, dual-use exports after repair under warranty, dual-use exports after exhibition, low-value shipments, technology for dual-use items, and dual-use items for export to India.