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.
The EU imposed restrictions on 19 individuals and one entity under its Myanmar sanctions regime, the European Council announced Nov. 8. The individuals include Kan Zaw, minister of investment and foreign economic relations; Htun Htun Oo, Supreme Court chief justice; and high-level officials in the Myanmar Armed Forces and Union Election Commission. The State Administration Council was listed due to its "central role in undermining democracy and the rule of law in Myanmar/Burma as well as in actions that threaten the peace, security and stability of the country," the council said. Restrictions initially were put in place following the military coup in Myanmar and currently apply to 84 individuals and 11 entities, subjecting them to an asset freeze and travel ban.
The European Council on Nov. 8 extended until Nov. 12, 2023, the sanctions regime relating to unauthorized drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean, the council announced. The sanctions currently apply to two individuals, who are subject to a travel ban and an asset freeze. The illegal drilling activities include drilling for hydrocarbons.
In a reversal, Germany now plans to block the purchase of Dortmund-based semiconductor company Elmos by Sweden’s Silex, a subsidiary of China's Sai Microelectronics, Elmos said this week. Elmos said Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection had previously told both parties that the transaction was “likely to be approved,” according to an unofficial translation of a Nov. 7 statement. Elmos said the deal will “probably be prohibited in the upcoming cabinet meeting on November 9, 2022.”
The EU wants the U.S. to drop discriminatory language and production requirements in the Inflation Reduction Act's green tax credits so it can get the same treatment as other trading partners, according to a document sent to Washington Nov. 4, Bloomberg reported. The letter called for greater transparency in the tax credits under the IRA and to ensure the bill's subsidies don't create adverse effects, threatening potential retaliation if the concerns are not addressed. The new U.S. trade restrictions could risk "creating tensions that could lead to reciprocal or retaliatory measures," the letter said. The document comes on the heels of a meeting between EU and U.S. officials over the bloc's concerns about the bill (see 2210310005). The EU said the new law is "particularly worrying" over supply chains as it will limit sources of critical materials and encourage "harmful competition" for inputs.
A group of European countries not in the EU aligned with two recent EU sanctions moves under the Iran and ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qaeda sanctions regimes, the European Council announced Nov. 7. Under the Iran restrictions list, the council amended the list of individuals and entities subject to sanctions Oct. 17. In response, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, Moldova, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway aligned with the decision. The council also extended the restrictive measures under the ISIL and al-Qaeda sanctions list. The countries of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Armenia imposed the decision in their governments.
Individuals and entities must submit frozen assets reports to the U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation by Nov. 11, OFSI announced. Any party that holds or controls funds or economic resources belonging to, owned, held or controlled by a sanctioned party must report the details of these assets to OFSI. The reporting template was updated Oct. 27.
New U.K. sanctions regulations will enter into force on Dec. 5. The measures move up the implementation date for import bans relating to Russian oil and oil products, from Dec. 31; bar the supply or delivery by ship of Russian oil and oil products from Russia to a third country or from a third country to another third country; ban the provision of financial services to facilitate the supply or delivery of Russian oil and oil products from Russia to a third country; grant exceptions to the measures where the banned oil and oil products originate in a non-Russian country and are not owned by a person connected with Russia and are only being loaded in, leaving or transiting through Russia; and give the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation the power to hit offenders with civil monetary penalties.
The U.K. issued a general license under its Russia sanctions regime pertaining to "transactions related to agricultural commodities including the provision of insurance and other services." The license permits agricultural commodities exporters or Department for International Trade license holders to receive funds from listed individuals and entities in connection with the export, sale, production and transport of agricultural commodities. These exporters and license holders can also transfer funds to relevant institutions in connection with the export of these goods, to U.K. corporates, to designated parties and to any other individual in connection with the export of agricultural commodities. The license was issued indefinitely, though the Treasury can revoke it at any time.
Shipping company Moller-Maersk CEO Soren Skou says Europe is close to a recession and the U.S. may soon follow, Bloomberg reported Nov. 2. The Danish company expects global container demand to drop by 2% to 4% this year, given factors such as the war in Ukraine and the impending energy crisis in the winter.