Switzerland this week dropped two people from its Democratic Republic of the Congo sanctions regime, both of whom were originally sanctioned for committing "serious" human rights abuses in the country. Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary and Kalev Mutondo were delisted after the EU also delisted the pair following a General Court ruling annulling their listing, which said that the European Council did not establish a sufficient link between the men and the situation in the DRC (see 2306200023).
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, in a July 12 notice, added six entities to its Sudan sanctions regime. The entries are for Al Junaid Multi Activities Co., Defense Industries System, GSK Advance Company, Sudan Master Technology, Tradive General Trading and Zadna International Company for Investment. All were listed for their roles in threatening the security of Sudan due to their support for one of the parties in the conflict between factions of the military government.
A free trade agreement between the EU and New Zealand, signed July 9, is expected to grow trade between the parties by 30% within 10 years, the commission said. The deal would eliminate all tariffs on EU exports to New Zealand, open the New Zealand services market in "key sectors," establish nondiscriminatory treatment for European investors, boost access for New Zealand government procurement, facilitate data flows, halt data localization requirements and strengthen intellectual property rights, the commission said.
The U.K. corrected one entry under its Iran (Human Rights) sanctions regime, in a July 7 notice. The entry for Moslem Moein, head of the Basij Cyberspace Headquarters, was updated to change his birth year from 1885 to 1985.
A new set of overlooked EU import restrictions on iron and steel products with links to Russia could be a heavy compliance lift for certain importers, Baker McKenzie said in a July 6 client alert. The new restrictions, outlined in the EU’s most recent Russia sanctions package (see 2306230013), haven’t gotten the “attention they deserve,” the firm said, adding that they will force certain “economic operators” to prove the goods they’re importing “do not contain any Russia-originating sanctioned iron or steel item.”
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation dropped one name from its Russia sanctions regime in a July 6 notice, removing Lev Aronovich Khasis, former first deputy chairman of the executive board of PJSC Sberbank.
The European Union recently approved three genetically engineered corn crops and renewed the authorization for three soybean crops and one cotton crop used for imported food and animal feed, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service said in a July 5 report. The approvals, which will remain valid for 10 years, came after a “comprehensive and stringent authorization procedure, including a favorable scientific assessment by the European Food Safety Authority,” the agency said. The imports will still be subject to the EU’s “strict” labeling and traceability rules.
The European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee on July 6 adopted a draft law to address violating and circumventing EU sanctions. The law would impose a set of common definitions of sanctions breaches and set minimum penalties across the bloc, the parliament said. Violations would include not freezing funds or not respecting travel bans along with doing business with state-owned entities of nations subject to sanctions.
The EU on July 4 imposed antidumping duties on stainless steel refillable kegs from China for five years, the European Commission announced that day. The duties range from 62.6% to 69.6% and follow an investigation that found the kegs were being dumped into the bloc. "The measures will help to ensure that the EU keg industry, which employs 500 people, can compete on an equal footing with keg imports from China," the commission said.
The EU's Directorate-General for Trade on July 4 expanded its Access2Procurement tool to cover the U.S., "making transatlantic procurement" easier for European businesses, the European Commission announced. The tool lets EU companies receive "user-friendly" data on public procurement tenders from various trading partners, the commission said, and "elucidates these countries’ commitments" under the World Trade Organization and trade deals. The platform also covers Canada and Japan, with more partners to be "added in the future," the commission said.