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.

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).

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.

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.

All 27 EU member states have either adopted a regime to screen foreign direct investments or have begun official talks to soon put one in place, the European Commission said in its annual report on FDI released last week. The report, which analyzes member state FDI screening activities for 2023, said 24 members so far have a screening tool in place, up from 21 around the same time last year (see 2310200038).

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is likely to react “more negatively and more directly” than his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, to the EU’s plan to start taxing carbon-intensive imports, a former U.S. trade official said Oct. 17.

A new U.K. general license authorizes certain transactions with sanctioned parties involving U.K. government debt. The license, issued Oct. 14, allows certain payments "in respect of UK Government Debt where either the legal holder or the direct or indirect recipient or beneficiary of that payment is a UK" sanctioned or "prohibited" party, "provided the payments are held in Frozen Accounts or UK Prohibited Persons Accounts." The license defines "prohibited" parties as people and entities subject to certain sanctions against Russia or Belarus, and it defines "UK Government Debt" to mean "all securities issued by, or on behalf of His Majesty's Government in respect of money borrowed by His Majesty's Government."

Group of 7 officials meeting in Rome last week said they have made progress on semiconductor supply chain issues and stressed the importance of addressing industrial policies that are unfairly propping up certain domestic chip industries.