The World Trade Organization's published agenda for the Dispute Settlement Body's Feb. 24 meeting includes a request from China to establish a panel in its dispute against Turkey's measures on electric vehicles and other types of vehicles from China.
A federal court in Kentucky found that Arms Export Control Act and International Traffic in Arms Regulations licensing requirements for technical data don't violate the First Amendment as a restriction on free speech. Judge David Hale of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky said the licensing requirements "advance important government interests unrelated to the suppression of free speech" and don't burden "substantially more speech than necessary to further those interests" (United States v. Pascoe, W.D. Ky. # 3:22-88).
Karalyn Mildorf, a former partner at White & Case, has joined Clifford Chance to work on international trade and national security issues, the firm announced. Mildorf's practice centers on Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. matters, compliance with the U.S. outbound investment security program, and more, the firm said.
Ethiopia reaffirmed its commitment to "accelerating its accession process" to the World Trade Organization with aims to conclude talks by the 14th Ministerial Conference in March 2026, the WTO announced. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and the country's steering committee on WTO access at the African Union Summit on Feb. 16 to discuss ramping up accession negotiations, the WTO said.
The U.K. has extended, effective Feb. 21, the antidumping duties on corrosion-resistant iron and steel products from China, until Feb. 9, 2028, the Department for International Trade announced. The duties range from 17.2% to 27.9%, including the 27.9% rate applied to non-individually examined exporters. The goods covered are "flat-rolled products of iron or alloy steel or non-alloy steel; plated or coated by hot dip galvanisation with zinc and/or aluminium and/or magnesium, whether or not alloyed with silicon; chemically passivated; with or without any additional surface treatment such as oiling or sealing," of specific metal content and "presented in coils, cut-to-length sheets and narrow strips." Excluded from the duties are products made of stainless steel, silicon-electrical steel and high-speed steel "not further worked than hot-rolled or cold-rolled."
Taiwan formally accepted the World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies Feb. 18, bringing the number of countries that have accepted the deal to 90. The WTO needs 21 more countries to accept to get to two-thirds of the membership, the threshold for the agreement to take effect.
The U.K. this week amended the entry for Eden Levi under its Global Human Rights sanctions regime to include his national ID number and date of birth. Levi is an Israeli national who was sanctioned for "threatening and perpetrating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinian individuals."
The Council of the European Union on Feb. 18 renewed its "restrictive measures framework" on Zimbabwe for another year, until Feb. 20, 2026. The measures include an embargo on arms and equipment that can be used for internal repression. However, the council delisted the last remaining entity on the sanctions list, the Zimbabwe Defence Industries.
The Philippines opened a safeguard investigation on corrugating medium, a component of some cardboard types, on Feb. 13, the World Trade Organization announced. The Philippines said that interested parties should submit comments on the investigation to the Bureau of Import Services within five days of the publication of its notice, i.e., Feb. 18.
DOJ charged an Ohio-based subsidiary of a Russian aircraft parts supplier and three of its current and former employees with illegally exporting aircraft parts from the U.S. to Russia and Russian airline companies, DOJ announced.