The European Commission on July 14 imposed definitive antidumping duties on multilayered wood flooring from China, ranging from 21.3% to 36.1%. Specifically, the duties cover wood flooring that's made of several layers of wood veneer glued or bonded together. They were imposed following an investigation finding that dumped Chinese flooring imports were harming the EU industry.
The European Commission on July 11 imposed definitive antidumping duties on lysine from China. The duties range from 47.7% to 58.2% and were imposed following an investigation that showed that dumped imports of Chinese lysine are harming the EU industry. Lysine is an "essential amino acid for human and animal health," the commission said, noting that synthetic lysine is used in animal feed, pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements.
The U.K. fined a British exporter $1,160,725.67 pounds (about $1.57 million) for violating sanctions against Russia, the country’s Revenue and Customs agency announced July 8. The penalty represented the largest settlement ever issued by the U.K.’s customs agency for a Russia-related sanctions breach. The exporter “made goods available to Russia in breach of” the sanctions, the U.K. said, but it provided no further details.
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, urged China to lift its export curbs on rare earths and asked it to stop allowing its companies to support Russia’s military industrial base.
The U.K.’s National Crime Agency published an alert last week to make companies aware of sanctions evasion by Russian shadow fleet vessels, including red flags they should be monitoring and steps they can take to alert U.K. authorities.
The European Commission and Ukraine reached an agreement in principle on a modernized trade relationship following a review of the EU-Ukraine Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, the commission announced. The new deal centers on an "alignment of Ukraine to relevant EU production standards," a "robust safeguard clause" and improved trade flows, it said.
The Council of the European Union on June 27 agreed to a partial negotiating mandate on reforming the EU customs framework to allow it to address trends such as "huge increases in trade volumes, especially in e-commerce," various EU standards that need to be checked at the border, and "shifting geopolitical realities and crises." The mandate allows for negotiations with the European Parliament on customs reform.
The U.K. last week warned foreign companies that it may sanction them if they’re involved in activities that could contribute to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leading to “serious consequences for your business and other financial dealings.” The country’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said British businesses are also on the lookout for companies that may be doing prohibited business with Russia, and if U.K. companies can’t be "assured" that a foreign firm isn’t involved with Russia, “some UK companies may take a cautious approach (sometimes termed ‘de-risking’) and refuse to do business with you.”
The U.K.’s Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation officially began accepting formal whistleblower disclosures June 26, the agency said in an email to industry. The U.K. also put in place changes to "help whistleblowers qualify for protections at work when disclosing information about financial, transport, and certain trade sanctions to the relevant department," OTSI said. The agency updated its whistleblower guidance to outline how to make a report and how the government will treat reports.
European Parliament members this month urged the EU to step up sanctions against the Georgian government, list Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization and designate Iranian officials for human rights breaches.