The EU and Japan, meeting July 16, acknowledged the entry into force of new provisions on the "free flow of data" and 48 new "Geographical Indications" under the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, the EU's Directorate-General for Trade announced. The two parties discussed "further market access improvement" and swapped views on "economic security issues." They came together for the fifth meeting of the Joint Committee established under the agreement.

Virtual currency wallet and exchange operator Payeer was fined nearly $9 million for violating international sanctions, Lithuania's Financial Crime Investigation Service announced. Payeer operated the cryptocurrency exchange "Payeer.com," which Russian customers were allowed to use to carry out transactions in Russian roubles. Funds were sent to and from sanctioned Russian banks, the Lithuanian authority said. Per EU law, the exchange was supposed to be conducting customer identification to ensure sanctioned parties were not using its services, close sanctioned parties' accounts and tell the investigation service of the suspension. The service was found to have violated EU sanctions for over 1.5 years.

The EU on July 15 released updated guidance for a requirement that forces exporters to insert clauses in their contracts that bar reexports of certain sensitive goods to Russia (see 2402270046). The guidance clarified that exporters are exempted from inserting this “no-Russia clause” as part of certain public contracts with a “public authority in a third country or with an international organisation.” But exporters still must inform their EU member state government “of any public contracts that they have concluded which is benefitting from” this exemption.

The EU General Court last week annulled three European Council decisions sanctioning Vladimir Rashevsky, former CEO and director of mineral fertilizer giant EuroChem. The court didn't consider the most recent listing decision imposing sanctions on Rashevsky.

The EU General Court in a pair of decisions July 10 annuled the sanctions listings for two former Democratic Republic of Congo officials -- Evariste Boshab, former deputy prime minister and minister of the interior and security, and Alex Mupompa, former governor of Kasai Central and member of parliament, according to an unofficial translation.

The European Union is setting preliminary countervailing duties on Chinese electric vehicles beginning on July 5, as expected (see 2406120008), the European Commission said. The rates are slightly lower than rates announced in early June, prior to negotiations between Chinese and EU officials that will still continue despite the imposition of CV duties. Revised CVD rates are 17.4% for BYD, 19.9% for Geely, 37.6% for SAIC, 20.8% for Chinese companies that cooperated but weren't individually investigated, and 37.6% for non-cooperating companies. Tesla, at its request, may receive its own individual rate in the EU's final determination, the European Commission said.

The EU on July 1 launched an antidumping investigation on imports of epoxy resins from China, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand after receiving a complaint from a group of epoxy resin producers. The European Commission said it will investigate certain products “containing more than 35% by weight of epoxy resins, with certain exclusions, and it expects to conclude the investigation within one year. The epoxy resin producers, comprised of Olin Corp., Westlake Corp. and Spolchemie, said exporters from the four countries are “selling their products on the EU market at unfairly low prices that significantly undercut the prices of European producers.”

The EU on July 3 declined to extend the protections in the Energy Charter Treaty -- a trade and investment deal for the energy sector -- to investments and investors from Russia and Belarus in order to boost its sanctions enforcement efforts, the European Commission announced. While neither Russia nor Belarus is a party to the Energy Charter Treaty, investors from these countries could theoretically use corporations set up in a signatory country to allege that the EU or its member states have violated "investment protection obligations" of the ECT and bring investor-state dispute settlement proceedings, the commission said. The EU's move eliminates the basis for making any such claim.

Germany on June 28 arrested four people, searched 23 residential and commercial buildings and seized various cash and assets pertaining to the illegal sale and export of passenger cars to Russia in violation of EU sanctions, according to an unofficial translation of a press release from the country's customs agency. The customs authorities seized over $14.5 million worth of euros, "extensive business documents" and five vehicles. The four arrested individuals are accused of exporting over 170 luxury vehicles to Russia since the end of 2022.

The EU General Court in a pair of decisions on June 26 annulled the sanctions listings of Russian businessman Dmitry Alexandrovich Pumpyanskiy and his wife, Galina Evgenyevna Pumpyanskaya. Pumpyanskiy was listed for supporting the Russian government and acting as a "leading businessperson operating in Russia" providing a "substantial source of revenue to the Government of Russia." He formerly served as chairman of Pipe Metalurgic Company (TMK) and president of investment firm Group Sinara, while his wife was listed solely for her link to the businessman. The court said the European Council can't rely on those listing criteria to maintain Pumpyanskiy's sanctions designation given that he no longer holds those positions at TMK or Group Sinara. Pumpyanskaya was removed because the sole basis of her designation was severed following her husband's successful appeal.