The U.K. and India completed their third round of talks on the creation of an India-U.K. Free Trade Agreement. Some officials engaged in talks in person in New Delhi, though most meetings were held virtually, the Department for International Trade said. At the talks, a draft treaty text was put together on a "majority of chapters" in 23 policy areas, DIT said. The U.K. will host the fourth round of talks in June.

The U.K. government introduced a bill that would ensure the government is ready to implement the independently negotiated trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand, the Department for International Trade said May 11. Both deals would remove tariffs on 100% of U.K. goods exported to the two Pacific island nations. A domestic U.K. bill is needed to fully implement the FTAs since the agreements will change the government's rules on procurement to give Australian and Kiwi manufacturers full access to the procurement benefits laid out in the FTAs.

The U.K. amended 88 entries under its Russia sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said in a May 9 notice. The updates state the reasons for the individuals' and entities' listing on the sanctions regime. Listed individuals include media figures, prominent businesspeople, regime officials and politicians.

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and the likelihood that the EU will pass a due diligence directive requiring disclosure of forced labor risk for large companies are changing the paradigm of supply chain visibility, a top Labor Department official said during a webinar on human rights in global supply chains. Thea Lee, a long-time union official and now deputy undersecretary for international affairs in the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, said, "I do think that we are in a new era, and it will behoove most companies to start taking these steps to be able to have the eyes into their supply chain whether they are directly impacted right now by the EU directive or whether they are selling goods into the United States."

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban held talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Orban's Budapest office May 9 over a proposed ban on Russian oil imports, according to both sides, Bloomberg reported. The talks "made progress but failed to reach a breakthrough." Orban is holding up the EU's proposal to phase out Russian oil imports. Von der Leyen said in a tweet after the meeting that she would put together a virtual conference to strengthen cooperation on oil infrastructure to help assuage Orban's concerns. Last week, Orban said an oil ban could be on the table only with a five-year exemption and billions of dollars to cover the cost of overhauling Hungary's energy industry, Bloomberg said.

The EU plans to drop the piece of its sixth sanctions package on Russia that would have banned EU-owned vessels shipping Russian oil to third countries, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported May 9. The proposed ban, part of the sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, was nixed following pushback from certain EU member states, including Greece, whose economy leans heavily on shipping. Further, a lack of a coherent position from the G-7 nations was at the heart of the proposal being dropped.

The U.K. launched a $1.2 million Seafood Exports package meant to boost British seafood exports in growing overseas markets, the Department for International Trade announced May 6. The funding will find new international buyers and match them with U.K. seafood exporters, tout U.K. seafood at international events and "increase expertise on British seafood produce" in embassies and consulates overseas. The package will also fund seafood specialists to work with "Agri-food and drink attaches" to tackle any technical barriers in the way of reaching international markets. The U.K. government also co-hosted a "UK Seafood Pavilion at the Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona" April 25-27.

The European Commission updated various elements of its frequently asked questions guidance pertaining to the ever-changing Russian sanctions regime. The commission on May 4 updated the guidance for "Circumvention and due diligence," "Trading" and "Assets freeze and prohibition to make funds and economic resources available." The guidance walks through the nuances of how to comply with sanctions on Russian individuals, entities and sectors of the economy. Other recently updated FAQs cover "Insurance and reinsurance," "Sale of securities in an official Member State currency," "Deposits," "Luxury goods," "Humanitarian aid" and "Credit rating."

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that Parliament member Greg Clark is the new trade envoy to Japan "to reinforce the strong UK-Japan trading relationship," the Department for International Trade said May 4. Clark previously has served in the Treasury and was secretary of state for business, innovation and skills. The U.K.'s bilateral trading relationship with Japan will tick up in importance as the U.K. waits on approval of its application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership -- an 11-member trade pact centered in Asia.

German exports to Russia fell 62.3% in a one-month period to around $905 million in March due to the fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began Feb. 24. According to data from Germany's statistics office, total exports fell 3.3% from February. The decline stems from the deluge of sanctions being placed by the EU and other leading economies on Russia while private companies are also rushing to sever ties with Russia. "Compared with February 2022, exports to the Russian Federation decreased by 62.3% to 0.9 billion euros in March 2022 because of the sanctions imposed as a result of Ukraine's fight against Russia, further measures to restrict exports, and unsanctioned behaviour of market participants," the statistics office said. "Imports from Russia declined by 2.4% to 3.6 billion euros in the same period."