Seven World Trade Organization member countries formally accepted the fisheries subsidies agreement on Oct. 23, pushing the number of WTO members to have done so to 51. This number is 46% of the total number needed for the agreement to take effect, the WTO said. In all, Albania, Australia, Botswana, Cuba, Cote d'Ivoire, South Korea and St. Lucia accepted the deal as part of a two-day meeting of senior officials Oct. 23-24 in Geneva. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, noting that Fiji is expected to accept the deal soon, said the announcement "represents a leap in the right direction."
The EU established a sanctions framework pertaining to the situation in Niger, allowing the bloc to sanction the parties that "undermine the stability, democracy, rule of law in Niger, and constitute a threat to peace and security in the region." The European Council announced Oct. 23 that the sanctions framework will aid the Economic Community of West African States' (ECOWAS) efforts to secure a return to "constitutional order in Niger" after a military coup in the country earlier this year. Sanctions under the regime will include a humanitarian exemption.
The European Council adopted the "Anti-Coercion Instrument" Oct. 23 -- a trade tool meant to disincentivize the use of coercive trade and investment measures "through dialogue." Should the dialogue fall through, the instrument allows for the EU to impose countermeasures, including trade restrictions, via "increased customs duties, import or export licences, restrictions on trade in services or access to foreign direct investment or public procurement."
The EU General Court on Oct. 18 rejected two sanctions delisting applications from Belarusian automakers Minsk Automobile Plant and BelAZ. In separate applications, the companies said the European Council failed to notify them of the sanctions, failed in the wording of the companies' names in the sanctions listings and failed in assessing the facts surrounding their designations.
Australia's antidumping commission recommended against renewing the antidumping duties on wind towers from China when they expire on April 16, 2024. Issuing the findings of a sunset review of the duties on Oct. 16, the commission said that revoking the duties wouldn't cause damage to the domestic industry.
China and Serbia signed a free trade agreement on Oct. 17, China's Ministry of Commerce announced, according to an unofficial translation. The deal marks the first of its kind between China and a Central and Eastern European country, the ministry said, touting the agreement's importance for its Belt and Road Initiative. The deal will allow both countries to achieve a "high level of mutual openness" and establish a more "preferential, convenient, transparent and stable business environment," the ministry said.
The U.K. Solicitors Regulation Authority released its annual Anti-Money Laundering report for 2022-23, covering the agency's role in addressing money laundering and terrorism financing, the role of private parties, enforcement activity, how to report suspicious activity, sanctions, case studies and risk assessments.
The U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office released a statement after a Court of Appeal decision relating to how the U.K. government may sanction a Russian entity based on what parties can exert control over it. The agency said it is "carefully considering" the decision's impact, specifically the decision that PJSC National Bank is controlled by sanctioned parties due to their political office (see 2301310028).
The European Parliament on Oct. 17 adopted new fisheries control rules requiring all EU fishing vessels to be monitored and their catches to be electronically reported. The measures are meant to establish "full traceability" under the EU's new fisheries control system and were adopted on a 438-146 vote, with 40 abstentions.
The European Parliament's Internal Market and International Trade committees adopted a draft regulation that would provide a framework for investigating the use of forced labor in global supply chains and bans all goods using forced labor, the parliament announced. If the investigation of a company reveals the use of forced labor, the European Parliament said, "all import and export of the related goods would be halted at the EU's borders and companies would also have to withdraw goods that have already reached the EU market." Goods that had reached the market would be "donated, recycled or destroyed."