The European Commission appointed four individuals to its panel of independent experts to help the commission pick candidates to serve as adjudicators under the dispute settlement mechanisms in European Union trade and investment agreements, the commission said. The four are Bruno Simma, judge at the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal in The Hague; Inge Govaere, professor of EU Law at Ghent University; Jan Klabbers, professor of International Law at the University of Helsinki; and Pavel Sturma, professor of international law at Charles University.

The National Federation of Self Employed and Small Businesses (FSB), a United Kingdom-based lobbying group representing small firms and the self-employed, called for urgent aid for small exporters, in a Sept. 24 report, to help them benefit from the U.K.'s new free trade agreements. The Ready to Launch report urges the Department for International Trade to revise and replace the Tradeshow Access Programme, which the report notes was recently ended, with an initiative modeled on the Canadian CanExport program to provide funding for participation in more trade activities. The lobbying group also wants greater export support, including advice from the DIT network of international trade advisers, for the small exporter community, which it says is “left in the dark about the real benefits of” FTAs.

The European Parliament called for targeted sanctions against individuals and entities in Lebanon, Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates and Cuba, in four Sept. 16 resolutions. In one such resolution, the parliament called for sanctions on anyone falling under the new Lebanon sanctions framework, which was in response to Lebanon's “political, economic, social, financial and health crisis.” In a second resolution, the parliament called for sanctions under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime for individual and entities responsible for human rights atrocities committed by the Taliban in Afghanistan during its takeover of the country. The parliament called for targeted sanctions against those in the UAE responsible for the persecution of Ahmed Mansoor and other human rights defenders under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime. The parliament also seeks sanctions on those responsible for human rights violations in Cuba related to the government crackdown on protesters and citizens.

The European Commission initiated an antidumping investigation into electrolytic chromium coated steel products from China and Brazil, it said in a Sept. 24 notice. Acting on a complaint from the European Steel Association, the commission will look into whether “flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, plated or coated with chromium oxides or with chromium and chromium oxides” are being sold at less than fair value and thereby harming the domestic industry. Comments on the product scope will be accepted by Oct. 4. The period under review is July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021.

The European Commission published guidance Sept. 23 designed to help researchers and academics comply with European Union and member state laws on dual-use goods and technology, as well as to help them "to identify, manage and mitigate risks associated with dual-use export controls." The guidance contains three sections, with the first constituting an introduction for the management level in research organizations, with emphasis on how this level of management's commitment to compliance is instrumental in implementing internal compliance measures; the second dealing with awareness information for researchers, including "the basics of dual-use export controls"; and the third providing specific guidance to compliance staff on how to establish an internal compliance program.

Russia renewed its import ban on agricultural products, raw materials and food including beef, pork, fruit, vegetables, fish and dairy products from the U.S., the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Norway, Ukraine, Albania, Montenegro, Iceland and Lichtenstein until Dec. 31, 2022. The ban was initially put in place Aug. 6, 2014, in retaliation for Western sanctions on Russia, according to a Sept. 23 post on the EU Sanctions blog.

The European Union General Court dismissed Maher Al-Imam's application to drop his sanctions listing from the EU's Syria sanctions regime, in a Sept. 22 ruling, according to an unofficial translation. Al-Imam challenged the European Council's assessment of the facts that the applicant was an influential businessman in Syria with connections to the Syrian regime. The court ruled that the council properly made this finding and that Al-Imam is an influential businessman in Syria. The court also held that the applicant's right to an effective judicial remedy was not violated and that the restrictions on the applicant's rights are justified given the human rights situation in Syria.

The European Union added environmental and good governance conditions to its Generalized Scheme of Preferences reform proposal as factors that could lead to the suspension of the GSP for low-income countries, the European Commission said. The change is one of many in the proposal.

The United Kingdom's sanctions on the Democratic Republic of the Congo will enter into force on Oct. 7 under its 2021 regulations, with amendments to align with and enable implementation of a United Nations resolution adopted June 29 that extends the financial and travel sanctions outlined in the original 2008 resolution to apply to individuals and entities designated for "planning, directing, sponsoring or participating in attacks against medical personnel or humanitarian personnel."

The European Union launched a new platform, Access2Procurement, to provide updates about public tender opportunities outside the EU that are open to European companies, the European Commission said Sept. 21. Currently in its pilot phase, the platform expands the Access2Markets system and seeks to aid European small and medium-sized companies. Part one of the new platform lays out procurement opportunities from Canada for EU companies, based on Canada's World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement commitments and the bilateral EU-Canada Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement, the commission said.