France, Germany and the United Kingdom said they remain committed to the Iran nuclear deal but said they are concerned by Iran’s “numerous, serious violations” of its nuclear commitments. In a Nov. 18 statement, the three countries said they are “extremely concerned by Iran’s actions, which are hollowing out the core nonproliferation benefits of the deal.” But they said they still plan to honor the deal and have taken “additional efforts to allow Iran to pursue legitimate trade,” including through the use of INSTEX (see 2002280029).
The Netherlands Parliament urged the European Union to restrict weapons exports to Turkey and impose sanctions on people in Turkey and Azerbaijan responsible for violence in the ongoing Nagorno-Karabagh conflict, according to a Nov. 18 post on the EU Sanctions blog. The parliament specifically asked the EU for a moratorium on weapons exports that could be used in the conflict, to impose sanctions on people responsible for the violence and to designate senior officials in Azerbaijan, including President Ilham Aliyev, his family members and “other key figures in the Azerbaijani offensive.” Sanctions should also be imposed on Syrian fighters in the conflict deployed by Turkey, the post said.
The United Kingdom's Department for International Trade issued a guidance Nov. 19 on how its retained blocking regulation will be applied after Brexit. The guidance includes information on U.K. enforcement, reporting and license applications related to the regulation, which aims to offset how U.K. companies and people are impacted by U.S. extraterritorial sanctions on Iran and Cuba.
The United Kingdom on Nov. 18 issued a guidance on its performance targets for the Export Control Joint Unit’s export licensing system. The ECJU said it aims to process 70% of standard individual export license applications within 20 working days and 99% within 60 working days. The guidance also outlines how the system aims to advise exporters, how exporters can appeal license decisions and the ECJU’s standards.
The European Union threatened to impose further sanctions (see 2010050010) against Belarus after a peaceful protester died due to injuries caused by plain-clothes police. Raman Bandarenka's death was “an outrageous and shameful result of the actions by the Belarusian authorities,” who are violating human rights, the EU said Nov. 13. “The European Union has already imposed sanctions on 55 individuals responsible for violent repression and intimidation, and stands ready to impose additional sanctions,” the EU said.
The European Commission launched a new complaint system to allow companies, trade groups and member states to report market access barriers presented by trading partners, a Nov. 16 news release said. The system will help the European Union’s “increased efforts to strengthen the enforcement and implementation of trade agreements” and will allow industry an increased voice in government priorities. “Stakeholders now will play a direct role in ensuring that EU trade policy delivers both on trade opportunities and on raising labour and environmental standards,” Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said. Complaints must include a “detailed factual description of the issue at stake,” and when market access is the issue, must include a description of “the alleged barrier's potential economic impact.”
The European Commission on Nov. 16 updated its guidance for providing COVID-19-related humanitarian aid to sanctioned countries. The guidance now includes a chapter on Nicaragua and clarifies the “responsibilities and the processes” to help “facilitate activities of humanitarian operators” in that country, the commission said. “The present [Guidance] Note replaces Commission Notice C(2020) 3179 final, adopted on 11 May 2020 which was focused on Syria only. The part related to Syria remains the same,” it said. The notice addresses questions the EC received regarding “exports of, and payments for protective gear, medicines, medical equipment” and medical assistance “to the population in need” in areas subject to EU sanctions.
The European Commission published its annual report on the European Union’s trade agreements in 2019, providing statistics on trade deals with 65 EU trading partners and the sectors that benefited. The Nov. 12 report said the EU’s deals with Canada and Japan “especially boosted trade” last year, helping Europe's agricultural and industrial exporters. “At a time when the European economy is in crisis, international trade is more essential than ever,” Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said, and the EU is taking “many steps” to “really take advantage of our trade agreements.”
The United Kingdom’s trade preference scheme for developing countries will continue after it leaves the European Union Jan. 1, 2021, the U.K.’s Department for International Trade said Nov. 10. The Generalised Scheme of Preferences, which provides preferential tariffs for developing countries, will cover any “eligible” countries that do not have their existing trade deals with the U.K. transitioned into a new agreement after Brexit, the agency said. U.K. Trade Secretary Liz Truss said the country is “making sure that the world’s poorest countries can continue to take advantage of the opportunities that free trade offers them by allowing them to export their products to the UK at preferential rates.”
The United Kingdom’s Export Control Joint Unit on Nov. 10 issued contact information for defense-related export inquiries after it said exporters have had trouble reaching the agency. The ECJU said some U.K. exporters are sending emails to “out of date team contacts and email addresses,” and the defense ministry team at the ECJU is “not receiving these requests, which means that a response cannot be sent.” The agency stressed that all exporter requests related to general export license approval letters, exemption letters and other defense-related export matters should be sent to ECJU-MODTeam@mod.gov.uk.