A negotiating mandate from the European Council was agreed to on Dec. 20 by "EU member states' ambassadors" over the revised Generalized Scheme of Preferences regulation, which gives trade preferences to developing countries, the council announced. The new GSP largely upholds the "main features of the current system, but includes some improvements," including "stronger links" for human rights and the environment and improved monitoring and transparency of the scheme. A new link will be established between the trade preferences given to a country and their "cooperation on migration and the readmission of own nationals illegally present in the EU," the council said.

The European Commission recently posted presentations from its annual export control forum earlier this month. Industry and government officials used the forum to discuss a range of export control updates and ways to expand restrictions against Russia, spoke about the need to remove outdated emerging technology export restrictions that are no longer effective and more (see 2212070053, 2212070041 and 2212090026).

The European Commission this week proposed a revised regulation that it said would clarify labeling and packaging rules for certain chemicals sold or bought online by manufacturers, importers or other “downstream users.” The new rule, which would target shipments of “endocrine disruptors and other harmful chemical substances," would require buyers and sellers to follow certain labeling rules after determining “whether a substance or mixture displays properties that should lead to their hazard classification,” the commission said.

The U.K. this week amended one entry under its Belarus sanctions regime. The listing for Mikail Safarbekovich Gutseriev was updated to include revised and new identifying information, including the spelling of his name, his nationality and the reasoning for his listing.

The EU added 141 people and 49 entities to its Russia sanctions regime as part of its ninth package of restrictions following Moscow's war in Ukraine, the European Council announced.

The U.K. imposed antidumping duties on aluminum extrusions from China, in a Dec. 16 notice. The duties apply to bars, rods, profiles, tubes and "pipes; unassembled; whether or not prepared for use in structures (for example cut to length, drilled, bent, chamfered, threaded); made from aluminium whether or not alloyed, containing not more than 99.3% aluminium."

The Netherlands is considering eliminating value-added taxes on vegetables and fruit and could implement the change as soon as 2024, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service said in a Dec. 14 report. The move, meant to “stimulate a healthier diet for Dutch consumers,” has been met “with several challenges,” USDA said, and the country is not sure how to “differentiate products that are or are not eligible for a reduced VAT rate.” The government also said imports could be “especially susceptible to fraud” if fruits and vegetables are “commingled” with other products, and would likely need to be subject to strict customs scrutiny. If the Netherlands follows through with the measure, it could reduce prices for a consumer base that spends nearly 25% of their food purchases on vegetables and fruit, USDA said.

The EU levied its ninth package of economic and individual sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. The new restrictions, announced by the European Council Dec. 16, impose export controls on dual-use goods, expand sanctions on banking and broadcasting firms in Russia, set a new ban on investment in the Russian mining sector and add a "significant number" of new financial designations.

The U.K. adopted new financial and trade sanctions against Russia Dec. 15, barring the provision of trust services to, or for the benefit of, a designated individual or entity, and the provision of new trust services to or for the benefit of, a person connected with Russia. The restrictions further amend existing sanctions on securities or money market instruments and loans and credit arrangements to a person linked to Russia, as well as suspend the Bank of England's duty to "make a decision in respect of a notification of third-country resolution action in respect of designated persons or persons owned or controlled by designated persons."

U.K. Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, with the prime minister's approval, appointed a new permanent secretary to the Department for International Trade, the DIT announced Dec. 14. Gareth Davies succeeds James Bowler, who became permanent secretary to the Treasury in October. Most recently, Davies served as second permanent secretary at the Department for Transport.