The World Trade Organization's published agenda for the Dispute Settlement Body's May 24 meeting includes U.S. status reports on the implementation of DSB recommendations on: antidumping measures on certain hot-rolled steel products from Japan; antidumping and countervailing measures on large residential washers from South Korea; certain methodologies and their application to antidumping proceedings involving China; and Section 110(5) of the U.S. Copyright Act. Status reports also are expected from Indonesia on measures related to the import of horticultural products, animals and animal products; from the EU on measures affecting the approval and marketing of biotech products; and from China on AD measures on stainless steel products from Japan.
The U.K. on May 16 renewed a general license under its Russian sanctions regime that allows British citizens to buy tickets from a sanctioned party for "flights or rail journeys originating in, or within, Russia." It also authorizes activities "reasonably necessary to effect the purchase of such tickets for flights or rail journeys." The license was scheduled to expire May 23 and now runs until May 23, 2026.
A group of eight TikTok users sued the U.S. on May 14, claiming a recent law that could ban the platform violates the content creators' First Amendment rights.
The U.K. on May 15 issued an open general export license related to exports of military goods for exhibition. The license includes a list of goods that can be exported to "a destination in any country," except for 91 countries, "providing they are being exported for the purpose of exhibition, and are to be returned to the United Kingdom." The license covers cluster munitions, explosive submunitions, anti-personnel landmines and explosive bomblets, among other products. Countries where the goods may not be shipped include China, Iran, North Korea and others listed on page nine of the license.
Lithuania's customs agency fined an unnamed Lithuanian company over $357,000 for buying and importing goods from sanctioned Russian companies "Nizhnekamsktekhuglerod" and "Nizhnekamskneftekhim," according to an unofficial translation. The former is a technology company, the latter makes synthetic rubber and plastics.
A recent U.K. Supreme Court ruling could have implications for how certain sanctions-related payment issues are treated under force majeure clauses in contracts.
Mauritius formally accepted the World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies May 13, moving the total number of countries that have accepted the deal to 75. The WTO requires 35 more to reach the two-thirds threshold needed for the agreement to be able to enter into effect.
The U.K. amended its definitions for "extraordinary situations and extraordinary expenses" under the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation's general sanctions guidance related to the agency's approach to licensing grounds.
The European Council on May 14 broadened the scope of its sanctions framework on Iran due to that nation's support for Russia's war in Ukraine. The council expanded the bloc's ability to impose sanctions on not only unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) but "missiles too." The EU can now target individuals and entities "supplying, selling or otherwise being involved in transferring Iran's missiles and UAVs" in support of the war in Ukraine or used by armed groups that undermine security in the Middle East and Red Sea region. The council also barred the export of components used in the "development and production of UAVs from the EU to Iran."
Sanctions and export control attorney Keil Ritterpusch has joined Buchanan Ingeroll as a shareholder in the international trade and national security practice group, the firm announced May 13. Ritterpusch has worked across the defense, aerospace and software sectors and has helped clients put in place compliance programs involving the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, Export Administration Regulations, Foreign Trade Regulations, Office of Foreign Assets Control regulations and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act requirements.