In the July 25 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

In the July 13-24 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

Japanese and European Union officials in late June clarified certain provisions of the EU-Japan economic partnership agreement for a “smoother and more efficient implementation” of the agreement, according to a July 19 notice from KPMG and a July 17 notification from Japan Customs. The agreement was intended to simplify the import declaration provision of the agreement “by which preferential tariff treatment is claimed in Japan,” KPMG said. Among the changes are provisions that say importers are not required to provide an “additional explanation … concerning the originating status of the product if not available to the importer” and that the “absence of an explanation, in addition to the statement on origin, will not lead to a rejection of the claim or a denial of the preferential tariff treatment” under the agreement. KPMG said the changes “could help address some of the administrative burden and associated trade barriers” between the two countries.

Britain published its Strategic Export Controls Annual Report for 2018 on July 18, which includes details of the United Kingdom’s export policies, licensing decisions, and other significant developments from 2018. The report also covers compliance with U.K. export controls and policy developments relating to Brexit.

Over the year since the European Union and the U.S. agreed to pursue trade talks, the two sides "have actually made some decent progress" on regulatory cooperation in pharmaceuticals and medical devices, but "where we are stuck is on industrial tariffs," said Sabine Weyand, director general for trade at the European Commission.

Britain will not grant new licenses for exports to Saudi Arabia and its “coalition partners” for items that may be used in the “conflict in Yemen,” the United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade said in a July 17 notice. The coalition of partners includes the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Egypt, the U.K. said.

Britain's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation updated identifying information for a financial sanctions entry related to South Sudan, the office said in a July 18 notice. The entry, Paul Malong AWAN, is still subject to an asset freeze, the notice said.

The European Commission posted the texts from the trade agreement with Mercosur (see 1906280060). "The texts are published for information purposes only and may undergo further modifications including as a result of the process of legal revision," the EC said. "However, in view of the growing public interest in the negotiations, the texts are published at this stage of the negotiations for information purposes. These texts are without prejudice to the final outcome of the agreement between the EU and Mercosur."

The European Union General Court annulled an act that sanctioned seven Ukrainians, including the country’s former president and other government officials, according to a July 15 post on the EU Sanctions blog. The court removed sanctions from former Ukrainian president Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych and his son Oleksandr Viktorovych Yanukovych, former minister of revenue and duties Oleksandr Klymenko, former prime minister Sergej Arbuzov, former prosecutor general Viktor Pshonka and his son Artem Pshonka, and the former head of the president’s administration Andriy Klyuyev. All annulments were announced July 11.

In the July 8 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted: