The Dutch Senate approved legislation that requires companies to examine and prevent the use of child labor in supply chains, the Netherlands announced on May 14. According to an alert from the Akin Gump law firm, "the Dutch law requires companies doing business in the Netherlands or those who provide goods or services to Dutch consumers -- including only through online means, if there is explicit targeting of the Dutch market -- to assess their supply chains to identify any child labor risks and then develop diligence and action plans to address and mitigate any such risks they find."
The U.K. Department for International Trade is updating its open general export license for export of dual-use goods to European Union member states in case of a no-deal Brexit, it said in a notice. The scope of items ineligible for the license has been amended to align it with EU regulations that will be retained by the U.K. after the country’s withdrawal from the EU, the notice said. The newly ineligible items are listed in Annex IIg to the regulation, and include uranium and nuclear technologies, pathogens, genetically modified organisms and some chemicals, among other things. “This licence will come into force if the UK leaves the EU without a deal,” the notice said.