Madagascar told the World Trade Organization July 18 that it opened on that date a safeguard investigation on certain types of edible vegetable oils, the WTO announced. The island nation said interested parties "must make themselves known" to the country's investigating authority within 30 days of the opening of the investigation.
Iraq resumed its talks on accession to the World Trade Organization on July 18 following a 16-year break in the negotiating process. The WTO said Iraq "reaffirmed its pledge to join" the world body, while noting its "significant economic and legislative reforms."
The World Trade Organization's published agenda for the Dispute Settlement Body's July 26 meeting indicates China will request the establishment of a dispute settlement panel on the U.S. government's tax credits for electric vehicles under the Inflation Reduction Act.
The EU and Serbia signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a "Strategic Partnership" on sustainable raw materials, battery value chains and electric vehicles, the European Commission announced July 19. EU and Serbia will develop a road map to implement the strategic partnership within six months, according to the MOU.
The Council of the European Union on July 22 renewed its sanctions regime on Russia for another six months, extending the restrictions until Jan. 31. The regime includes a range of individual, sectoral, trade, financial and servicing restrictions.
Benin and Sierra Leone formally accepted the World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies July 19, bringing to 80 the number of countries that have accepted the deal. The WTO requires 30 more formal acceptances to reach the two-thirds of membership threshold needed for the agreement to be able to enter into force.
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision upending the Chevron principle of deferring to federal agencies' interpretations of ambiguous statutes requires a more demanding review of the Office of Foreign Assets Control's use of the Global Magnitsky Act and International Emergency Economic Powers Act, sanctioned Mir Rahman Rahmani and his son, Hafi Ajmal Rahmani, argued (Mir Rahman Rahmani v. Janet Yellen, D.D.C. # 24-00285).
The U.K. on July 18 sanctioned various oil tankers that transport Russian oil, in an effort to "crack down on Russia's 'shadow fleet,'" the U.K. Prime Minister's Office announced. Eleven Russian ships were sanctioned, including the Rocky Runner, which previously attempted to evade British restrictions by "changing its operator."
South Korea sanctioned Hong Kong-based shipping company HK Yilin Shipping Co. and the North Korean-flagged vessel, called Tok Song, for violating sanctions on North Korea, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced July 18, according to an unofficial translation. A vessel owned by Yilin Shipping took coal from Tok Song in March in a ship-to-ship transfer off North Korea's coast, the ministry said. Future financial exchanges with the shipping company will require prior approval from South Korea's Financial Services Commission or the Governor of the Bank of Korea. The government said it "will continue to take strong and consistent law enforcement measures against ships and shipping companies involved in the transport of prohibited goods."
Maxim Marchenko, a Russian national living in Hong Kong, was sentenced on July 17 to three years in prison for his role in shipping dual-use, military grade organic light-emitting diode (OLED) micro-displays for Russian end users (see 2309190063), DOJ announced. He will serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.