The European Commission in a July 12 notice announced the impending expiration of antidumping duty measures on okoume plywood from China unless a review of the duties is initiated. European Union manufacturers can submit a written request for a review up to three months before the duty's April 7, 2022, expiration date. In another notice, the EC told of another antidumping duty expiration for certain hot-rolled flat products of iron, non-alloy or other alloy steel from China. Without a request for a review, the duties also will expire on April 7, 2022. See the notices for where to submit requests for review.

A California resident was sentenced to two years in federal prison for conspiracy to smuggle counterfeit cell phone components from China, a July 9 Justice Department press release said. Chan Hung Le conspired with others to bring in counterfeit Apple, Samsung and Motorola products from China, generating over $18 million in revenue from sales in the scheme. The phone parts were brought in using mailboxes the conspirators set up with virtual office service providers in Oklahoma and Texas under a fake business name, JV Trading Solutions, from 2011 to 2015. The parts were then sold through online stores. “[Le]…orchestrated an elaborate scheme to deceive customs agents by creating covert shipping channels from Hong Kong and China to different U.S. states,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum. “From this conduct, and this deception, [Le] generated millions of dollars in profit. [Le] enlisted numerous other parties in his conduct -- including his romantic partner, his employees (witting or unwitting), other family members, and the unwitting virtual mailbox service companies." Prosecutors called it a "sophisticated, long-standing, and highly profitable offense.”

Switzerland added 78 individuals and seven entities to its sanctions regime on Belarus, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs said in a July 7 news release. The move brings Switzerland in line with the European Union's entries on the same individuals and entities.

The European Union General Court annulled the 2020 sanctions listings of three former Ukrainian officials. The separate July 7 judgments were for the former Prime Minister Sergej Arbuzov, former Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka and Pshonka's son Artem Pshonka, a former parliament member, according to unofficial translations. The court said the EU Council hadn't proved that Ukrainian authorities respected the individuals' right to effective judicial protection during the criminal proceedings on which the council relied. The Pshonkas were relisted by the council on March 5 and remain subject to EU sanctions, according to two implementing decisions.

The United Kingdom signed a free trade agreement with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein July 8, the Department for International Trade said in a news release. The deal further cements tariff-free or tariff-reduced trade for many goods in the nearly $30 billion trading relationship between the U.K. and the three nations. British exports such as cheese will enter those countries tariff-free while other goods, such as pork and poultry, will see tariff reductions, the release said. Certain U.K. wines and spirits, such as Scotch whisky, will also have their protected status recognized. The fishing sector will see a shift to lower import tariffs for goods such as shrimps, prawns and white fish from the U.K. The signatories also now have the ability to cap the charges mobile operators are allowed to charge each other for international mobile roaming, according to the release.

The United Kingdom Foreign Affairs Committee issued a list of recommendations for how to respond to human rights violations in China's Xinjiang region in a July 8 report, “Never Again: The UK's Responsibility to Act on Atrocities in Xinjiang and Beyond.” The report looks at the multilateral system, diaspora and culture, forced labor and the private sector, technology and research, and the U.K.'s approach to atrocity prevention. Recommendations include coordinating sanctions with allies, introducing legal obligations to remove forced labor from business supply chains partnered with sanctions for noncompliance, banning U.K. entities from conducting business with Chinese companies associated with the Xinjiang atrocities, and providing access to sanctions experts for all government departments.

The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation removed Agat System from its Belarus sanctions regime, in a July 8 notice. Agat Electromechanical Plant JSC is part of the Belarusian State Authority for Military Industry, tasked with the “military-technical policy of the state,” and will no longer be subject to an asset freeze.

The United Kingdom's Export Control Joint Unit, part of the Department for International Trade, on July 8 released guidance on export licensing decisions made Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2020. The data includes quarterly reports on issued licenses, previous quarterly licensing data reports, annual licensing data reports for 2008-2020 and guidance on strategic export controls data.

The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation removed an entry from its Syrian sanctions regime, dropping "leading businessperson in Syria" Nader Qalei from the sanctions list, in a July 8 notice. Qalei will no longer be subject to an asset freeze.

Moet Hennessy stopped shipments of its Champagnes to Russia following new restrictions that reserve the label of Shampanskoe, the Russian translation of Champagne, for Russian sparkling wines, Bloomberg reported July 7. “The Champagne region is outraged by the new Russian legislation on wine labeling,” the French Champagne lobby group CIVC said July 5, three days after the new rules were implemented. Moet's decision to halt the shipment of Dom Perignon, Ruinart, Moet & Chandon and Krug will allow the company time “to understand and study the new regulations and assess their consequences,” a representative of Moet owner LVMH told Bloomberg. France's Foreign Ministry is reviewing the new restrictions while the European Commission pledged to evaluate whether the law violates Russia's World Trade Organization commitments, the report said.