The United Kingdom extended the countervailing duty on rainbow trout from Turkey from Jan. 30, 2021, to Jan. 30, 2026, the Department for International Trade said in a Nov. 30 notice. The duties apply to "rainbow trout live, fresh, chilled, frozen or smoked whether in the form of whole fish (with heads and gills on), gutted, weighing 1.2kg or less each, or with heads off, gilled or gutted (weighing 1kg or less each), or in the form of fillets (weighing 400g or less each)," with duties varying between 1.5% and 9.5%.
Switzerland has sanctioned four Syrian government ministers who were appointed in August, following the European Union's lead, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs said in a Nov. 25 notice. The four are Amr Salem, internal trade and consumer protection; Boutros Al-Hallaq, information; Mohammad Seifeddine, labor and social affairs; and Diala Barakat, state. Switzerland on Nov. 11 delisted former Libyan Prime Minister Baghdadi Al-Mahmoudi. The EU also delisted Al-Mahmoudi in November (see 2111120009).
The European Union reopened an antidumping investigation into certain woven and/or stitched glass fiber fabrics from Egypt, the European Commission said Dec. 1. Following a request from glass fiber fabric producers association TECH-FAB Europe, the commission will look into whether "fabrics of woven and/or stitched continuous filament glass fibre rovings and/or yarns with or without other elements, excluding products which are impregnated or pre-impregnated (pre-preg) and excluding open mesh fabric with cells with a size of more than 1,8 mm in both length and width and weighing more than 35 g/m2" are still being dumped into the European market, or whether antidumping measures in effect on the subject merchandise have had "an effect on export prices, resale prices or subsequent selling prices in the Union." Currently, a definitive antidumping duty is imposed on certain woven and/or stitched gals fiber fabrics from China and Egypt, but a recent price decrease in subject Egyptian exports prompted TECH-FAB to request a reopening of the case.
The United Kingdom's High Court of Justice dismissed a challenge from Egyptian national and sanctioned individual Hany Youssef over whether the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act complies with Articles 6 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, according to a Nov. 26 judgment. Articles 6 and 8 guarantee the right of access to a court and protect the right to private and family life, respectively. Youssef was sanctioned by the United Nations Al-Qaida and Taliban Financial Sanctions Committee in 2005. Following the passage of SAMLA in 2018, the Egyptian national sought to have his UN sanctions listing removed via the U.K. government, eventually arguing that the U.K. judicial system's inability to order the U.K. government to quash a UN sanctions listing is in violation of the ECHR.
The European Union initiated an antidumping investigation into imports of fatty acid from Indonesia, the European Commission said in a Nov. 30 notice. The inquiry -- following an October complaint from the Coalition Against Unfair Trade in Fatty Acid -- is looking specifically at "fatty acids saturated or unsaturated with a carbon chain length of C6, C8, C10, C12, C14, C16 or C18 with an iodine value below 105 g/100 g." The investigation covers the period from Oct. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021, and will be completed within 13-14 months from the date of publication of the notice, as is standard, the commission said.
The European Commission this week released the agenda of its upcoming annual export control forum (see 2111220008), which will feature industry feedback on the European Union's new dual-use regulations and more. The forum will include panels with European Commission officials, export control researchers and EU exporters, who will discuss recent control developments, how to best implement and modernize controls, and challenges posed by emerging technologies, among other topics.
The United Nations and Switzerland last week added Emraan Ali to their ISIL sanctions list. Ali is suspected of recruiting for the terrorist organization and instructing individuals to commit terrorist acts. The United Kingdom also sanctioned Ali last week (see 2111260002). The U.S. designated Ali in September 2018.
The European Court of Justice dismissed an appeal on Nov. 18 by Fereydoun Mahmoudian that sought to increase the amount of compensation awarded to Mahmoudian from the General Court's decision to give him over $80,000 due to his inclusion on the European Union's Iran sanctions list. Unsatisfied with this amount, Mahmoudian sought over $1 million in material damages and $564,000 for non-pecuniary damages from the ECJ or to remand the case to the General Court. The appealed damage payments awarded by the lower court also included payments of over $560 for every month his assets were frozen. The ECJ ruled that the General Court was right to find that Mahmoudian gave insufficient evidence to establish the reality and extent of the alleged damages, and that the General Court's numbers were properly supported. The ECJ also ordered Mahmoudian to bear his own costs and pay those incurred by the European Council, but the European Commission was required to pay its own costs.
The European Commission released a proposal Nov. 23 for a framework to "blacklist" transport companies involved in trafficking people into the European Union. The proposed measures are in response to the ongoing situation at the Belarus-EU border. They include limiting transport operations in the union, suspending the right to give transport services to or within the EU, suspending the right to pass through or fly over EU territory, withholding the right to refuel or carry out maintenance within the EU, suspending the right to call into or enter EU ports and withdrawing operation licenses.
The United Kingdom added one entry to its ISIL and al-Qaida sanctions regime, a Nov. 25 financial sanctions notice said. Emraan Ali, a Trinidad and Tobago and U.S. national, is now subject to an asset freeze and travel ban due to his status as a senior member of ISIL.