Russia is set to abide by a new deal, brokered by the U.N., allowing Ukrainian grain and other farm products to be exported via the Black Sea, Bloomberg reported Nov. 15. Russia will let the deal renew after it expires Nov. 19, individuals familiar with the situation told Bloomberg, though they didn't specify whether Russia would look to add new conditions in return for the extension. Turkey and the U.N. brokered the original 120-day deal allowing Ukraine to resume its seaborne exports from its ports after Russia's invasion. The new accord would enact a 120-day extension unless one of the parties pulls out or modifies it, Bloomberg said. The U.N. said it will help ensure unimpeded exports of Russian food and fertilizers.
U.K. Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch plans to use her first trip to Washington to promote U.K.-U.S. trade ties, Britain's Department for International Trade said Nov. 14. Badenoch spoke at the Cato Institute Nov. 14, promoting "strong trading alliances to challenge the increasing threat of authoritarian states." Badenoch also will meet with various members of Congress to "make the case for boosting our transatlantic trade relationship even further in the years ahead," the DIT said. She is to join Hillary Clinton, among others, at the Washington Post Global Women's Summit Nov. 15, starting at 9 a.m. EST.
The European Commission last week held a hearing on its 2022 report on the implementation and enforcement of EU trade agreements. The commission uploaded videos of the commission’s presentation of the report and a question and answer session.
Both the EU and the U.K. added entries to their Iran sanctions regimes over the Iranian government's role in the death of Mahsa Amini and the subsequent crackdown on protests relating to her killing.
The European Council extended until Nov. 14, 2023, its Venezuela sanctions regime, citing the country's ongoing political, economic, social and humanitarian crisis. The council also updated the statement of reasons for 17 individuals on the list.
The EU added another 10 individuals and one entity to its sanctions regime pertaining to the use of chemical weapons, the European Council said in a Nov. 14 news release. The additions are connected to the poisoning of Russia's leading opposition leader Alexei Navalny and include high-level officials at the Russian Federal Security Service and Russian chemical weapons experts. The added entity is MHD Nazier Houranieh & Sons, which provides the Syrian Studies and Research Center with materials to make chemical weapons delivery systems.
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on Nov. 10 released its annual review for 2021-2022. OFSI said in the review that from Feb. 22 to Oct. 22 this year, more than $21.4 billion in frozen funds were reported to OFSI as being held on behalf of sanctioned parties under the Russia sanctions regime. That's up from nearly $52 million in September 2021. OFSI received 236 reports of sanctions breaches, issued two monetary penalties and issued warning letters and "other enforcement action where appropriate." The report said OFSI had issued 33 general licenses related to its Russia sanctions regime by Aug. 24 and issued 42 new and 107 amended specific licenses across its nine sanctions regimes, with most relating to Libya sanctions. OFSI, with 45 staff at the beginning of the year, will reach 100 employees by year's end, the review said.
The European Commission last week amended two frequently asked questions under its Russia sanctions regime guidance. Under its asset freeze FAQs, the commission added FAQ 15, which says voting rights by shareholders with qualifying holdings in an EU ban should be viewed as an intangible economic resource given that they can be used to obtain funds, goods or services. Under the oil imports FAQ section, the commission added FAQ 2, which includes information on imports into the EU or the purchase or transfer of goods that originate in a third country but are mixed during transport with goods that originate in Russia.
The U.K. and EU are nearing a breakthrough in the Northern Ireland Protocol dispute, with the EU beginning to test the U.K.'s live database, which tracks goods moving from the U.K. mainland to Northern Ireland, Bloomberg reported Nov. 8. If the EU is satisfied, an agreement could be reached on customs checks in the Irish Sea, a major sticking point in reaching an agreement. Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said he sees "a real intent in London" and a settlement is possible by year's end, according to the report. It also said British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's administration hopes that a deal will settle tensions in the region and restore a working government. Matters such as governance of Northern Ireland remain in dispute.
Russia's largest ports have seen freight volumes tank due to the EU's sanctions on Moscow, according to research from Vincent Stamer, an expert at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. The St. Petersburg port saw an 85% plummet in container throughput in 2022 vs. 2021, with Stamer saying few containers are arriving at what used to be Russia's busiest port, Bloomberg reported. The Kiel Institute, a German economic think tank, showed that Russia brought in 24% fewer goods per month from June through August, compared with the same period last year, leaving a $4.5 billion monthly import gap.