The U.K. dropped 12 entities from its Syria sanctions regime on April 24, including major government ministries and media outlets, according to a notice from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation. Those entities are the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defence, General Intelligence Directorate, Air Force Intelligence Agency, Political Security Directorate, Syrian National Security Bureau, Military Intelligence Directorate, Army Supply Bureau, General Organisation of Radio and TV, Al Watan, Cham Press TV and Sama TV.
The U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on April 23 added three FAQs to address issues surrounding the use of sanctions licenses that mention Rosbank PJSC and Bank Otkritie.
Thea Kendler, former assistant secretary for export administration at the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, and Aiysha Hussain, Kendler's senior policy adviser, have joined Mayer Brown as partners in the international trade, national security and white-collar defense practices, the firm announced. Kendler served at BIS for three years, joining the agency from DOJ, where she worked as a trial attorney in the national security division. Hussain worked at Commerce since 2020, serving as senior counsel then senior policy adviser for export administration.
The European Commission earlier this month released a "coordination framework" that allows EU member states to voluntarily identify "similar risks and to coordinate with designing national" export control lists. The proposal also "facilitates the exchange of information among Member States and the Commission prior to and after" adopting the national control lists. Member states may additionally consider and benefit from "any additional information provided by other Member States or the Commission" under the proposal. The framework said that shared information might include the scope of the control list, the impact of the list on "EU economic operators" and other "relevant information for the preparation " of the list.
State attorneys general may take the lead on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement in light of the Donald Trump administration's pause on enforcing the act, attorneys at Crowell & Moring said in an April 14 alert. There's good reason to believe states will follow California's lead in announcing that it will enforce anti-foreign bribery efforts, the firm said.
The U.K. on April 14 added two entries to its Iran sanctions regime and amended entries under its Russia and global anti-corruption sanctions lists. Under the Iran sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation listed Rawa Majid and the Foxtrot Network. OFSI amended the entries for Paramount Energy & Commodities and its owner, Niels Oscar Troost. Under the global anti-corruption list, OFSI corrected the listing of Moldovan national Marina Tauber.
World Trade Organization members elected Argentina's Gustavo Nerio Lunazzi the new chair of the Council for Trade in Goods, the WTO announced.
The Council of the European Union on April 14 sanctioned seven individuals and two entities under its Iran sanctions regime for their role in arbitrarily detaining EU "mono and dual nationals on spurious grounds" and executing members of ethnic and religious minorities, the council said. The entities are the Shiraz Central Prison and the First Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz. The individuals are members of the judiciary, including two involved with the prison system.
World Trade Organization members confirmed the appointment of Nigeria's Adamu Mohammed Abdulhamid to serve as chair of the special session of the Council for Trade in Services, the council's "negotiating arm," the WTO announced. Abdulhamid will lead discussions to achieve a "progressively higher level of liberalization, as reflected in members' specific commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services," it said.
The European Commission on April 11 extended its antidumping duties on monosodium glutamate (MSG) from China to cover imports from Malaysia, following an anti-circumvention investigation on Malaysian MSG. The commission said the investigation found that the exports had "increased significantly" following the imposition of duties on Chinese MSG due to duty evasion. The move imposes 39.7% AD on Malaysian MSG. The commission said it uncovered assembly operations with Chinese raw materials to which less than 25% value was added, along with transshipment of Chinese MSG via Malaysia.