European collaboration with the U.S. on trade-related policies and other issues likely will become more difficult when President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House in January, a former Swedish government official said Nov. 7.
The U.K.’s trade agency issued a new report this week about the economic impacts of outbound investments by British firms. The report comes days after the U.S. issued a final rule to create a new regime to block certain outbound investments in China (see 2410280043) and as the EU considers creating its own outbound investment restrictions (see 2407250013). The U.K. report doesn't focus on the possibility of those restrictions but said an “envisaged restrictive regulatory action such as investment screening could alter the effects of UK” outbound investment “in the future.”
The U.K. recently fined four exporters more than $2 million combined for breaching the country’s export controls, including one for violating trade restrictions against Russia, the country announced Nov. 4.
The European Commission last month announced it will begin approving imports of two genetically engineered corn crops and renewed the authorization for one corn crop and one cotton crop, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service said in a recent report. The crops, which are authorized for food and animal feed, will be valid for import for 10 years, USDA said, and will be subject to the EU's “strict labeling and traceability rules.” USDA said this is the EU’s third group of genetically engineered crop approvals this year.
The U.K. on Oct. 31 removed a Russia-related licensing ground, or legal basis, from its list of activities that it said are eligible for export licenses. That list now no longer includes a licensing ground that may have authorized certain services “to a person connected with Russia” through a U.K. parent company or the U.K. subsidiary of that parent company. The U.K. has said it may still approve licenses for certain activities that aren’t included in its list of licensing grounds.
Switzerland adopted a set of recent EU sanctions against Belarus on Oct. 30, bringing the country in line with the EU’s so-called “No-Belarus clause,” which requires companies to insert language in new contracts to signal certain products can’t be sent to Belarus (see 2407010025). Switzerland also adopted EU sanctions that impose restrictions on investments in companies in the Belarusian energy sector; trade bans on luxury goods, gold, diamonds, coal and crude oil from Belarus; and more.
Data compiled by law firm Duane Morris shows which European nations are most actively enforcing sanctions, including by issuing fines, pursuing criminal convictions and undertaking investigations.
Customs administrations in the EU have started to enforce a new requirement that exporters insert clauses in their contracts that bar reexports of certain sensitive goods to Russia and Belarus, U.S.-based logistics company Expeditors said last week. The enforcement has begun even though customs authorities have made no official announcement to that effect, Expeditors said. The European Commission in February issued updated guidance on how EU companies should comply with the “no reexport to Russia” clause (see 2402270046).
The EU on Oct. 25 officially began registering imports of goods under investigation in 12 ongoing antidumping or countervailing duty probes, allowing for retroactive collection of AD/CVD if certain conditions are met, Denis Redonnet, the EU’s chief trade enforcement officer, said on social media platform X. With the move, the EU may be able to collect retroactive duties on imports related to investigations on epoxy resins, decor paper, iron and steel tubes and pipes, optical fiber cables and more. The European Commission previewed the move in September (see 2409240010).
The EU General Court on Oct. 23 annuled the sanctions listing of Vladimir Gheorghe Plahotniuc a former member of Moldova's Parliament, who was listed for allegedly committing bank fraud and bribing the former president of Moldova in exchange for political favors.