The EU General Court last week upheld the sanctions listing of Marina Mordashova, who was sanctioned in 2022 for her association with her husband, Alexey Mordashov, chairman of investment firm Severgroup. The court rejected Mordashova's argument that she shouldn't be subject to sanctions because she was no longer married to Mordashov, according to an unofficial translation of the court's decision.

The EU Court of Justice on Sept. 10 said the restriction on providing brokering services in relation to military equipment to parties in or for use in Russia applies even when the goods were never imported into an EU member state, according to an unofficial translation. The court said if this weren't the case, then the "prohibition could easily be circumvented" by shipping equipment on a route that didn't pass through EU territory.

The EU General Court on Sept. 11 rejected the Russian National Settlement Depository's challenge to its listing on the Russian sanctions list. The court said that the European Council didn't fail to show that the depository, which provides financial services and securities record-keeping and custody services, plays an "essential role in the functioning of Russia's financial system."

The EU General Court earlier this month dismissed the delisting applications of Igor Kesaev, largest shareholder of Russian weapons maker Degtyarev Factory, and Kirill Shamalov, deputy chairman of the management board of petrochemical company Sibur Holding, in a pair of decisions, according to an unofficial translation.

The European Commission this week updated its Russia-related sanctions frequently asked questions, including guidance on the restrictions that apply to people and companies providing services to Russia. The updated FAQs cover how sanctions apply in the context of aggregate ownership (page 25); firewalls, which stop a sanctioned person from exercising control over a non-sanctioned EU company, allowing that company to continue normal business operations (page 39); and how sanctions apply to services provided as an employee of an EU mother company to a Russian subsidiary (page 349).

The U.K.’s trade agency this week released a list of products that companies are asking the government to make subject to new import duty suspensions. The list describes more than 180 duty suspension applications that the government has received for a range of products, including parts used for batteries, various metals and agricultural and food products. The U.K. said “the previous government invited stakeholders to apply for new suspensions” from May to July, and it plans to “confirm the outcome of all applications received in due course.”

An upcoming digital service being prepared by the U.K. government is expected to modernize and simplify duty payments for alcohol trade, according to the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade, a U.K. trade association.

Traders may be encountering electronic export licensing issues due to “temporary” problems affecting data flows between the country’s Custom Declaration Service and the Department for Business and Trade’s electronic licensing systems, including SPIRE and LITE, the U.K. said in an Aug. 23 guidance notice.

Risk advisory firm Kharon said it has recently identified “numerous cases” of European companies directly and indirectly sending dual-use items to Russia, including through logistics firms based in the Baltic region and the United Arab Emirates.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank's "Trade Guys" podcast said that the EU's tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles (see 408200020) "is sort of a preview of coming attractions."