The U.K. and Norway agreed to cooperate on easing the barriers that could stem from health certificates for seafood imported into the U.K., Norway's fisheries ministry said in a statement June 15. The U.K. warned it will require such certificates for seafood from European Economic Area countries. Norwegian Minister for Fisheries and Ocean Policy Bjornar Selnes Skjaeran and British Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Victoria Prentis met in London and agreed that Norwegian and British authorities will work to find ways to "reduce the burden imposed on the industry," according to an unofficial translation.
The U.K. rolled out legislation June 13 that would give Britain the power to unilaterally rewrite most of the Northern Ireland Protocol, overriding the Brexit deal signed with the EU. The protocol kept Ireland in the EU single market post-Brexit and set up a customs border with mainland U.K. The new law would allow ministers to institute new rules on customs checks, tax and arbitration.
A U.K. court ordered Alexander George, a U.K. citizen and former company boss, to pay over $851,000 relating to export control violations, Revenue & Customs announced. George was convicted in 2018 of violating U.K. export controls by exporting fighter jet parts to Iran and sentenced to two and a half years in prison over the illicit scheme. If the defendant fails to pay the court-ordered penalty on time, he will see another three months in prison, Revenue & Customs said, with the fine still due.
The U.K.'s Department of International Trade released guidance on how to comply with the myriad of trade restrictions and sanctions that apply to British businesses that trade with Russia. The guidance covers sectoral sanctions, export and import bans and licensing, tariffs on Russian and Belarusian goods, financial sanctions and transport sanctions.
In a resolution meant to be part of the EU's new rules on products created or transported by forced labor, the European Parliament recommended banning such products from the bloc. According to the recommendations, authorities would "detain and seize" the goods at EU borders in instances where "sufficient evidence" indicates that they were made or transported by forced labor.
A group of European countries not in the EU aligned with a series of sanctions decisions implemented by the bloc relating to Russia and Belarus' invasion of Ukraine and to ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qaida, the European Council announced. Groups of countries aligned with five recent sanctions moves relating to the war in Ukraine and one recent move over ISIL and al-Qaida.
Some Russian airlines are considering relocating to Turkey to skirt sanctions that so far have stopped them from leasing aircraft and accessing maintenance and repair facilities. Pegas Touristik, owner of Nordwind Airlines, and Anex Tourism Group, operator of Azur Air, have had discussions with leasing companies in Turkey about getting planes, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported June 8. Azur Air and Nordwind primarily ferry Russian tourists to marquee locations and are controlled by Turkish businessmen. Since the carriers are not sanctioned, their relocation wouldn't violate the restrictions, Bloomberg said. The EU's sanctions led to companies terminating leases to airlines in Russia and banned the carriers from flying in European airspace.
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation issued guidance on the enforcement and monetary penalties for violations of financial sanctions to reflect changes made by the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act of 2022. The new measures and guidance come into effect June 15.
The EU adopted a European Council decision and regulation asking member states to implement "appropriate measures" to confiscate proceeds of sanctions infringements "in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine." The decisions tack on an amendment to Article 2 of the EU's Russia sanctions regime that freezes all funds belonging to or held by any listed individual or entities.
Russia imposed a travel ban June 6 on another 61 U.S. citizens in response to U.S. sanctions, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced, according to an unofficial translation. Listed are Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, along with other American officials and businesspeople in the media, finance, aviation and shipping sectors.