The U.K. Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee released a report June 30 critical of Britain's role in the global financial system as a "hub for illicit finance," particularly in light of the war in Ukraine. Russian assets are continuously laundered through the U.K. to finance President Vladimir Putin's war, the committee said. London's standing as a magnet for global finance presents a grave national security risk, the committee said. The report assesses "consequences of the complacency of successive Governments towards illicit finance and the adequacy of the current Government's response."

The U.K. placed a new restriction on the Russian economy June 29, banning Russia from accessing British trust services, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office announced. Implementing the ban alongside new individual and entity asset freezes, the U.K. will prevent any individual or business from accessing trust services to manage assets.

The EU General Court on June 27 dismissed an application from sanctioned Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov for interim measures, according to an unofficial translation. The court ruled his application didn't show urgency or serious irreparable harm because Usmanov only discussed his damages that stemmed from the financial viability of three subsidiaries of USM Holding. Usmanov has a 49% share of the subsidiaries and thus does not control them, the court pointed out. As such, the applicant failed to show a direct causal link between the subsidiaries' finances and his placement, made in February, on the EU's Russian sanctions list.

The EU appointed one new judge, reappointed four and filled two vacancies, the European Council announced June 29.

The U.K. lifted restrictions on imports of Japanese food from the Fukushima prefecture, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said June 29, according to an unofficial translation. The U.K. imposed the restrictions to prevent access to radioactive substances in Japanese foods following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown incident. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the lifting of the restrictions and said it "will continue to work toward the early elimination of the remaining import restrictions in countries and regions including the EU." The Guardian reported that supermarket chains Tesco and Waitrose said there are no immediate plans to sell goods from Fukushima, but many of the items will be available at Japanese restaurants and specialty stores in England, Scotland and Wales. The move to lift the restrictions was allowed after the U.K. Food Standards Agency dropped its limit of 100 becquerels, a radioactivity measure, per kilogram contained in Japanese food.

The U.K.'s Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs Task Force has blocked or frozen over $30 billion in sanctioned Russian assets, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. The task force has frozen or seized sanctioned individuals' "high-value goods," and restricted sanctioned individuals' access to the international financial system, OFSI said. Through coordination between REPO Task Force members, around $300 billion of Russian Central Bank assets have been frozen, various yachts and other vessels controlled by sanctioned Russians detained and access to the global financial system cut off.

The EU on June 29 floated the idea of banning the sale of flavored heated tobacco products as part of a broader plan to fight cancer, The Associated Press reported June 29. The European Commission laid out the proposal amid a 10% bump in sales of these goods in more than five member nations. Heated tobacco products now make up over 2.5% of total sales of tobacco products throughout the EU. The ban would cover devices that use heated tobacco to make emissions containing nicotine that is then inhaled by the user, including some but not all vaping devices.

The U.K. this month released two new open general export licenses, each with the aim of allowing the "simplified export of a range of dual-use and military equipment to India," the Department for International Trade announced. One license, "Dual-Use Items India," permits the export of various items listed in the regulation's annex. The license doesn't authorize exports of items that the secretary of state has told the exporter are intended for use in connection with chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, for a military end-use and the purchasing country is subject to an arms embargo, or for use as parts of military items listed in the national military list.

CBP wants to develop incentives for green trade, possibly by reviewing authorized economic operator programs, and said that its initial green trade strategy, published June 28, is not the limit of its aspirations. "The goal is to identify incentives that aim to reduce carbon emissions, encourage the use of eco-friendly modes of transport, and support adoption of technologies and practices with positive environmental impacts. Incentives would encourage green trade practices while avoiding negative impacts on the flow of legitimate cargo," the strategy says.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it's reasonable to shield the U.K. steel industry with tariffs that mirror those found in other European countries, Bloomberg reported. Responding to Sunday Telegraph reports that he is ready to skirt World Trade Organization rules to impose new tariffs, Johnson said June 26 at the Group of Seven summit that tariffs could help alleviate hard times for the steel industry due to high energy prices. “We need British steel to be provided with much cheaper energy and cheap electricity for its blast furnaces,” Johnson said. “But until we can fix that, I think it is reasonable for UK steel to have the same protections that other European, absolutely every other European steel economy does.”