Senior trade officials met at the World Trade Organization Oct. 23 and 24 to "take stock of progress on issues on the negotiating agenda" in the run-up to the 13th Ministerial Conference, the WTO said. On Oct. 23, WTO members adopted a decision to aid least-developed countries in graduating from LDC status and broke out into sessions on agriculture, trade and development and dispute settlement reform. The next day, breakout sessions covered trade and industrial policy and trade and environmental sustainability.
The EU General Court on Oct. 25 annulled the listing of the ex-wife of Alfa Group founder Mikhail Fridman, referred to only as "QF" in the opinion, according to an unofficial translation. Originally sanctioned in April 2022, QF was delisted five months later. The court annulled her original listing. QF claimed the European Council based its decision on evidence lacking probative value and erroneously assessed the facts.
The U.K. on Oct. 25 issued a new license under its Russia and Belarus sanctions regimes related to certain legal services payments, replacing the current license that was scheduled to expire Oct. 28 (see 2305010012), according to the EU Sanctions blog. Under the new license, the cap for services based on a prior obligation and services not based on a prior obligation may not exceed 10% of the "amount payable for the professional legal fees and Counsel's fees," or around $60,700, whichever is lower.
South Korea will look to Tanzania, in addition to ramping up domestic production, to secure graphite as a result of China's impending export controls on the critical mineral (see 2310200030), South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said this month, according to an unofficial translation. The agency said it will need to continue to monitor the situation and will look to "secure additional response capabilities" by supporting domestic artificial graphite production and securing long-term supply contracts with "private companies with mines in third countries such as Tanzania."
The U.S. filed a forfeiture complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against a 348-foot superyacht allegedly owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, DOJ announced Oct. 23. The vessel, worth more than $300 million, was seized in 2022 in Fiji following a U.S. request for mutual legal assistance. The yacht was "improved and maintained in violation of" sanctions on Kerimov and "those acting on his behalf," DOJ alleged.
Seven World Trade Organization member countries formally accepted the fisheries subsidies agreement on Oct. 23, pushing the number of WTO members to have done so to 51. This number is 46% of the total number needed for the agreement to take effect, the WTO said. In all, Albania, Australia, Botswana, Cuba, Cote d'Ivoire, South Korea and St. Lucia accepted the deal as part of a two-day meeting of senior officials Oct. 23-24 in Geneva. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, noting that Fiji is expected to accept the deal soon, said the announcement "represents a leap in the right direction."
The EU established a sanctions framework pertaining to the situation in Niger, allowing the bloc to sanction the parties that "undermine the stability, democracy, rule of law in Niger, and constitute a threat to peace and security in the region." The European Council announced Oct. 23 that the sanctions framework will aid the Economic Community of West African States' (ECOWAS) efforts to secure a return to "constitutional order in Niger" after a military coup in the country earlier this year. Sanctions under the regime will include a humanitarian exemption.
The European Council adopted the "Anti-Coercion Instrument" Oct. 23 -- a trade tool meant to disincentivize the use of coercive trade and investment measures "through dialogue." Should the dialogue fall through, the instrument allows for the EU to impose countermeasures, including trade restrictions, via "increased customs duties, import or export licences, restrictions on trade in services or access to foreign direct investment or public procurement."
The EU General Court on Oct. 18 rejected two sanctions delisting applications from Belarusian automakers Minsk Automobile Plant and BelAZ. In separate applications, the companies said the European Council failed to notify them of the sanctions, failed in the wording of the companies' names in the sanctions listings and failed in assessing the facts surrounding their designations.
Australia's antidumping commission recommended against renewing the antidumping duties on wind towers from China when they expire on April 16, 2024. Issuing the findings of a sunset review of the duties on Oct. 16, the commission said that revoking the duties wouldn't cause damage to the domestic industry.