The European Commission on June 12 provisionally set countervailing duties on Chinese electric vehicles, though there could still be changes before the provisional rates are posted, no later than July 4. The day after the publication, importers would need a guarantee to cover the amount of duties, but the duties themselves would not be collected until the definitive duties are set, which could be as much as four months later. If a majority of countries in the EU vote against the duties, they wouldn't be levied.
The European Commission on June 10 opened a foreign subsidies investigation on the Emirates Telecommunications Group Company's (e&'s) sole control of PPF Telecom Group B.V., "excluding its Czech business." The commission said that it has "preliminary concerns" that e&, a state-controlled telecommunications firm, "may have been granted foreign subsidies that could distort the EU internal market." The investigation was opened under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation and will look at "actual or potential negative effects on the acquisition process" and whether the foreign subsidies "lead to actual or potential negative effects in the internal market."
The World Trade Organization on June 7 said it upgraded its "e-GPA Gateway," its online platform on trade and government procurement, to provide "more user-friendly access to information" related to parties to the Agreement on Government Procurement 2012. The platform now includes a "tool to browse each party's market access commitments," reporting tools on the "thresholds set by each GPA party above which public contracts can be granted," an advanced search engine allowing searches of specific parties and products, a tool to search for "modifications of coverage," and greater access to data on current procurement opportunities.
Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs announced June 3 that starting June 14, the export of nitrocellulose to Russia and Belarus will be banned, according to an unofficial translation. The move comes after the island banned the export of 77 "machine tools" to the two nations earlier this year, the ministry said. Nitrocellulose is a "key component of smokeless gunpowder" and has already been designated as a controlled item in the U.S. and the EU. The ministry also reminded traders that the fine for first-time illegal exports to Russia and Belarus "has been significantly increased" to about $138,000.
Dimitry Timashev, a dual U.S. and Russian citizen, pleaded guilty on June 7 to illegally exporting firearm parts and ammunition to Russia, DOJ announced.
The U.K. last week updated the listing for International Gateways Group of Company Limited under its Myanmar sanctions regime. The listing changed the name of the firm from International Gateways Group of Companies to International Gateways Group of Company and the address of the entity. The U.K. also said the company has been involved in the "repression of the civilian population in Myanmar" and the "commission of serious human rights violations" in the nation.
Switzerland, following the EU's lead, sanctioned two people and one entity for allegedly spreading propaganda promoting Russia's war in Ukraine. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs listed former Ukrainian politicians Artem Marchevskyi and Viktor Medvedchuk, along with the Voice of Europe media outlet. The EU sanctioned these same parties last month (see 2405280062). Switzerland also amended the listings of 12 people and 17 entities under its Russia sanctions regime.
The EU General Court on May 29 dismissed a suit from Belarusian Airlines AAT challenging the validity of its 2021 sanctions designation.
The EU General Court on May 29 annulled the European Council's sanctions designation of Russian businessperson Farkhad Akhmedov, founder of Russian gas equipment supplier Tansley Trading and minority shareholder of Northgas. The court said that the council "made an error of assessment" in sanctioning Akhmedov "by considering that the applicant was a leading businessperson involved in economic sectors which provided a substantial source of revenue to" the Russian government.
World Trade Organization members last week agreed on chairpersons for 13 of the body's subsidiary committees for 2024, the WTO announced: