The European Commission on Dec. 19 opened a safeguard investigation on alloy imports to look into whether global overcapacity and trade-restrictive measures in other major markets have injured the EU alloy industry, the Directorate-General for Trade announced. If the investigation finds injury to the EU industry, the commission can propose safeguards, which would need approval from a majority of EU member states, the commission said. The investigation shall run a maximum of nine months. The EU can impose provisional duties for up to 200 days if the preliminary determination in the investigation lays out "clear evidence that increased imports have caused or are threatening to cause serious injury," the commission said.

The European Commission on Dec. 17 opened a review of the EU safeguard measure on steel, the Direcotrate-General for Trade announced. The investigation will run until March 31, 2025, and any decision resulting from the proceeding will take effect on April 1, 2025, the commission said. The measure was imposed on certain steel products in 2018 and has been extended twice. It's currently set to expire June 30, 2026, at which time it will have reached the "maximum eight years allowed under EU law and WTO rules," the commission said. "This new review investigation will not impact the duration of the measure."

EU negotiators on Dec. 3 agreed to delay the bloc’s upcoming deforestation reporting requirements by one year to help companies better prepare for the new due diligence rules (see 2410040022). The law was scheduled to take effect for most large companies Dec. 30 and for small companies June 30, but a provisional agreement struck between members of the European Parliament and Council could extend those dates to Dec. 30, 2025, and June 30, 2026, respectively.

The U.K. on Dec. 5 officially updated guidance for its various sanctions regimes to reflect the passage of legislation earlier this year that gives its sanctions agency greater intelligence-gathering and enforcement powers (see 2411260013). An update to the U.K.’s Russia-related sanctions guidance said the U.K. made a “range of technical changes with the purpose of improving” the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation’s “ability to gather intelligence on industry’s compliance with financial sanctions, strengthen OFSI’s enforcement powers, enable OFSI to conduct its licensing responsibilities more efficiently, and clarify financial sanctions legislation where there is existing uncertainty.” The country made similar updates to its guidance for sanctions against Belarus, North Korea, Syria, Iran, Venezuela and Myanmar.

The U.K. transitioned an EU countervailing duty on biodiesel from Indonesia to its own trade remedies authority on Nov. 28. The move maintains the CVD rates on shipments of fatty-acid mono-alkyl esters or paraffini gasoils obtained from synthesis or hydro-treatment and of non-fossil origin in pure or blended form. The duties range from 8% to 18%.

New guidelines issued by the European Banking Authority are designed to help EU financial firms set common policies and procedures to comply with sanctions, export controls and other “restrictive measures.” The document offers separate guidelines for large banks and other sets of financial institutions, such as payment service providers and crypto-asset service providers, and includes recommendations around sanctions screening, risk assessments, due diligence and customer monitoring.

Recently passed U.K. legislation gives the country’s top sanctions agency greater intelligence-gathering and enforcement powers, Crowell & Moring said in a November client alert, and could allow it to process license applications more efficiently.

The U.K. Office of Foreign Sanctions Implementation provided an overview of "red flags" that may indicate when Russian oil shipments have been "manipulated to appear as non-Russian through the use of fabricated or falsified certificates of origin." The guidance also lays out "potential mitigation measures" to help British entities shield themselves from the practice.

The U.K. extended antidumping duties on steel ropes and cables from China, including on ropes and cables consigned from Morocco and South Korea, for another five years, until April 21, 2028. The duties range from 0% for Moroccan exporter Remer Maroc and certain South Korean exporters to 60.4% for all Chinese exporters and all other Moroccan and South Korean exporters. The duties specifically cover "steel ropes and cables including locked coil ropes, excluding ropes and cables of stainless steel, with a maximum cross-sectional dimension exceeding 3mm."

The transfer of certain customs issues from the EU Court of Justice to the EU General Court "could lead to faster and more specialized decisions," lawyers at Baker McKenzie said in a client alert earlier this month. Partner Arnoud Willems and associate Line Hammoud said the change potentially could make it easier for companies to "bring cases and achieve favorable outcomes."