After conducting an expiry review, the EU imposed a definitive antidumping duty on acesulfame potassium from China, the European Commission said Jan. 28. Requested by Celanese Sales Germany, the review covered imports of "acesulfame potassium (potassium salt of 6-methyl-1,2,3- oxathiazin-4(3H)-one 2,2-dioxide; CAS RN 55589-62-3)" from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020. The following rates apply: 4.58% for Anhui Jinhe Industrial Co.; 4.47% for Suzhou Hope Technology Co.; 2.64% for Anhui Vitasweet Food Ingredient Co.; and 4.58% for all other companies.

Seven countries aligned themselves with the European Union's December decision to renew the existing restrictive measures on individuals and entities that have committed serious human rights violations, the European Council said Jan. 26. North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Ukraine will implement in their national policies the EU's decision to extend the human rights sanctions regime for another 12 months, until Dec. 8, 2022.

The European Union kicked off an expiry review Jan. 26 of the antidumping duties on stainless steel tube and pipe butt-welding fittings, whether or not finished, from China and Taiwan, the European Commission said.

The European Council condemned recent aggressive action from Russia that has heightened tensions with Ukraine. In Jan. 24 conclusions on the European security situation, the council promised "massive consequences and severe costs" for any greater Russian military aggression against Ukraine, which includes "a wide array of sectoral and individual restrictive measures" that would be taken up by the European Union and its partners.

The European Commission, in a Jan. 25 regulation, extended the antidumping duties on imports of certain tube and pipe fittings, of iron or steel, from China following an expiry review. The duties apply to "tube and pipe fittings (other than cast fittings, flanges and threaded fittings), of iron or steel (not including stainless steel), with a greatest external diameter not exceeding 609,6 mm, of a kind used for butt-welding or other purposes" from China. All companies will be subject to a 58.6% dumping rate. The duties were extended to cover tube and pipe fitting imports from Taiwan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, whether declared as originating in any of these countries or not. In a second notice, the commission initiated a partial interim review of the ADD measures on monosodium glutamate from China.

Following the U.K.'s departure from the European Union, the Dublin Port noted a drop in trade volumes for the fourth quarter of 2021, the port operator said. The decline came after a surge in activity in Q4 2020 due to the impending imposition of Brexit border controls. Overall trade volumes at the Dublin Port fell in Q4 2021 by 10.3% to 9.1 million gross tonnes, the port said. It also cited an 11.9% drop in the number of containers and trailers year on year from a pre-Brexit high of 418,000 in Q4 2020 to 369,000 units in Q4 2021.

The European Commission gave notice Jan. 21 of the impending expiry of the antidumping duties on certain hot-rolled flat products of iron, non-alloy or other alloy steel from Brazil, Iran, Russia and Ukraine, unless a review of the duties is initiated. EU manufacturers can submit a written request for a review up until three months before the Oct. 7 expiration date.

The United Kingdom amended its Burundi sanctions regime in a January regulation following the largely peaceful transfer of power in the African nation resulting from the May 2020 elections. The changes "revoke and replace" the 2019 Burundi sanctions regime with its new sanctions parameters, drop the criteria for listing individuals or entities over their obstruction of the search for a peaceful solution to Burundi's political situation, and remove language encouraging the Burundi government to bring about a peaceful solution to its political situation. The U.S. has already revoked its Burundi sanctions regime to reflect the same changes.

The European Union initiated an expiry review of the antidumping duties on imports of certain aluminum road wheels from China following a request from the Association of European Wheel Manufacturers, the European Commission said in a Jan. 20 regulation. The review will cover "aluminium road wheels of the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705, whether or not with their accessories and whether or not fitted with tyres" brought into the EU from Oct. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021. Interested parties wishing to submit comment on the review must do so within 37 days of the publication of the notice of initiation of the review, the commission said.

Seven countries aligned with the EU's Dec. 13 decision to add two individuals and three entities to its Syria sanctions regime, the European Council said in a Jan. 19 news release. The countries are North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Georgia.