China will reimpose tariffs on 134 items from Taiwan because Taipei didn't reciprocate with similar tariff concessions as part of a trade deal with Beijing, China's Ministry of Commerce announced May 31, according to an unofficial translation. The ministry said it revoked the previously issued tariff suspensions because Taiwan violated the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement on gradually eliminating tariffs on most of the goods traded between the parties. The tariffs will be reinstated starting June 15, Chinese state-run news outlet Xinhua reported.
Lars Winkelbauer, former executive at Polar Air Cargo Worldwide, was sentenced to four years in prison on May 30 for his role in a scheme to defraud his former employer out of more than $32 million, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced.
The Council of the European Union on May 31 added three entities and six people to its North Korea sanctions regime for "sanctions evasion activities" that could "generate funds for" the nation's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The entities are Hapjanggang Trading Corp., a subordinate to the North Korean Ministry of Rocket Industry; Korea Namgang Trading Corp., which expatriates North Korean workers to generate revenue for Pyongyang; and Eastern Stevedoring Co., which operates the terminals at the main container port of the Russian Vostochny Port. The EU also sanctioned Song Rim, Kim Chol Sok, Rim Yong Hyok, Kim Kyong Nam and An Se-Ho, who work for the North Korean government or North Korean companies, and Oleg Nikolaevich Kozhemyako, who played an "instrumental role" in the September 2023 visit of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Russia.
The Council of the European Union sanctioned six people and three entities from Iran for transferring unmanned aerial vehicles to Russia for use in its war in Ukraine, the council announced May 31. The entities are Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, a "central entity in the command chain of Iran's armed forces"; Kavan Electronics Behrad, an Iran-based UAV procurement firm; and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, which delivers Iranian UAVs. The council also listed Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad-Reza Gharaei Ashtiani, along with a commander of the IRGC Qods Force and the head of the sanctioned Iranian Aviations Industries Organization. Sanctioned parties are subject to an asset freeze and travel ban.
World Trade Organization members on May 30 held the first formal dispute settlement reform meeting centered on appellate review and accessibility, the WTO announced. Mauritius' Usha Dwarka-Canabady, facilitator of the talks, said that she heard a "strong appreciation for the dispute settlement system" from most of the 46 delegations that shared their views during the discussion.
The Council of the European Union on May 30 approved a regulation that will impose tariffs on cereals, oilseeds and derived products from Russia and Belarus, with the goal of halting all imports of these goods into the EU. The duties also applied to beet-pulp pellets and dried peas from Russia and Belarus, which currently enter the bloc duty-free. The duties will enter into force July 1.
The Council of the European Union on May 30 cleared the way for the EU-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement to enter into force, the council announced. It will take effect on the first day of the second month after the date on which the countries have told each other they have completed their internal procedures.
The Council of the European Union on May 30 adopted new anti-money laundering rules, which "exhaustively harmonises anti-money laundering rules for the first time throughout the EU." The rules are extended to new entities, including "most of the crypto-sector, traders of luxury goods and football clubs and agents."
Congress, federal agencies and state bar associations should work together on new regulations to ensure U.S. lawyers aren't enabling Russia-related sanctions evasion, Stanford Law School lecturer Erik Jensen and a host of law students recommended in a recent report.
World Trade Organization members met on May 24 with a delegation from Uzbekistan to discuss the Central Asian nation joining the global trade body, the WTO announced. Members at the meeting highlighted areas where more work is needed, including on the completion of market access agreements. Jamshid Khodjaev, deputy prime minister of Uzbekistan, said his goal is for Uzbekistan to join the WTO by the 14th Ministerial Conference in 2026. The chair of the talks, South Korea's Yun Seong-deok, said the talks occurred just six months after the seventh meeting, demonstrating the "accelerated pace" of the discussions.