In the April 23 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

The United Kingdom hopes to reach a deal with South Korea to maintain the effects of the European Union-South Korea Free Trade Agreement should the U.K. leave the EU with no transition deal, the U.K. Department for International Trade (DIT) said in guidance issued April 23. “The UK is seeking to agree arrangements with South Korea to ensure trade continues with minimal disruption after the UK leaves the EU,” with “minimal changes to tariffs and quotas, even if the UK leaves the EU without a deal,” the guidance said. If no deal is reached, trade between the U.K. and South Korea will be subject to World Trade Organization most-favored nation rates, it said.

Russia is putting in place additional sanctions against Ukraine, including new bans on imports and exports between the two countries, according to a blog post from Baker McKenzie. Effective April 18, Russia is adding to the list of goods that cannot be imported into Russia from the Ukraine tariff headings and subheadings covering paper products, apparel and footwear, metal products and machinery, among other things, according to an unofficial translation of the Russian government’s notice. Russia is also immediately adding tariff provisions covering certain oil and petroleum products and chemicals to the list of goods prohibited for export to the Ukraine. Effective June 1, Russia also is adding goods to a list of products that cannot be exported from Russia to Ukraine without a permit, including coal and more petroleum products.

The Eurasian Economic Union is hoping to sign a free trade agreement with Serbia in October, according to an April 11 report from Dezan Shira & Associates. The announcement came from a board member of the Eurasian Economic Commission at an international conference earlier in April in Kazakhstan. Board member Veronika Nikishina said the EAEU has concluded negotiations with Serbia and hopes to sign the agreement this year, according to the report. Nikishina also said “just a step separates” the EAEU from wrapping up negotiations with Singapore on a “free trade zone,” the report said.

In the April 17 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that beginning May 2, those who had property seized by the Cuban government after the Communist revolution can sue foreign companies "trafficking in property that was confiscated by the Cuban regime. Any person or company doing business in Cuba should heed this announcement," he said April 17. The right to sue foreign companies had been suspended for more than 20 years, and European diplomats warned Pompeo ahead of the announcement "the extraterritorial application of unilateral restrictive measures, such as the LIBERTAD Act, is contrary to international law." Trade Minister Cecilia Malmstrom said that if he went through with the plan to allow these lawsuits, the EU may launch a World Trade Organization case, and would allow EU companies to file counterclaims in EU courts against Americans bringing suit.

The executive director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's U.S.-UK Business Council, said that even a customs union would be more complicated for U.S. exporters than the status quo. Marjorie Chorlins was speaking with reporters on a conference call April 17. "The amendment proposing a customs union came very close to passing," she said, in response to a question from Export Compliance Daily. But exactly what would be included in the customs union could vary -- it does in Norway and Turkey, she said.

In the April 16 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

The European Union is imposing new antidumping duties on imports of urea and ammonium nitrate from the U.S., Russia, and Trinidad and Tobago, it said in a notice of its preliminary determination in the April 11 EU Official Journal. A provisional antidumping duty rate of 22.6% is now required on imports of the product by CF Industries Holdings, the sole U.S. exporter being investigated, as well as on urea and ammonium sulfate exported from the U.S. by all other companies. The new cash deposit rate takes effect April 11, though the EU may apply it retroactively as of March 22 (see 1903210046). That decision will be made at the final stage of the investigation.

In the April 11 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted (see 1904120033 for notices from April 12):