The European Court of Justice dismissed an appeal on Nov. 18 by Fereydoun Mahmoudian that sought to increase the amount of compensation awarded to Mahmoudian from the General Court's decision to give him over $80,000 due to his inclusion on the European Union's Iran sanctions list. Unsatisfied with this amount, Mahmoudian sought over $1 million in material damages and $564,000 for non-pecuniary damages from the ECJ or to remand the case to the General Court. The appealed damage payments awarded by the lower court also included payments of over $560 for every month his assets were frozen. The ECJ ruled that the General Court was right to find that Mahmoudian gave insufficient evidence to establish the reality and extent of the alleged damages, and that the General Court's numbers were properly supported. The ECJ also ordered Mahmoudian to bear his own costs and pay those incurred by the European Council, but the European Commission was required to pay its own costs.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week renewed a general license authorizing transactions between certain companies and Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. General License No. 8I, which replaces No. 8H (see 2106020003), authorizes transactions between PdVSA and Chevron, Halliburton, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Weatherford International, with certain restrictions, through 12:01 a.m. EDT June 1, 2022. The license was scheduled to expire Dec. 1.
Germany is privately urging Congress not to push for more sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, which it said could “undercut” European energy security and “seriously weaken transatlantic unity on Russia,” Axios reported Nov. 28. In a November “non-paper,” which was intended to be used in closed discussions, the Germany Embassy in Washington said the U.S. shouldn’t increase pressure on the project. It also reaffirmed its commitment to the joint declaration issued earlier this year (see 2107220008) that said it would push for European Union sanctions against Russia if the country weaponizes the pipeline.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking public comments on areas and priorities for export control cooperation between the U.S. and the European Union, the agency said in a notice. The comments will help inform the work of the recently established U.S-EU Trade and Technology Council and its export control working group, including efforts to harmonize controls over dual-use items and emerging technologies (see 2109290083 and 2110010036). Comments are due Jan. 14, 2022.
The United Kingdom added one entry to its ISIL and al-Qaida sanctions regime, a Nov. 25 financial sanctions notice said. Emraan Ali, a Trinidad and Tobago and U.S. national, is now subject to an asset freeze and travel ban due to his status as a senior member of ISIL.
The European Union will replace its COVID-19 vaccine export controls after they expire on Dec. 31 with a new tool that monitors vaccine shipments, the European Commission said. The current export control mechanism requires would-be exporters to apply for authorization to ship their vaccines outside the EU -- a system that led the union to block some vaccine shipments. The system taking its place is meant to feed the commission "timely, company-specific vaccine export data" and bolster an emphasis on transparency in vaccine exports. The data will be collected by EU member states' customs authorities. “The EU has been at the forefront of the global vaccination effort," EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said. "We have exported over half our vaccines production and we have supported and funded initiatives such as COVAX, which help to ensure vaccine access to those parts of the world most in need. Mindful of our global responsibilities, I am pleased that we will now replace our current authorisation system with a new monitoring mechanism to get precise data on our exports. There is still important work to be done in the drive to vaccinate the world, therefore we will redouble our efforts on all fronts at the upcoming WTO Ministerial meeting to ensure a holistic global response to the pandemic.” The release said this means that, "as of 1 January 2022, vaccine producers will no longer have to request an authorisation for the export of vaccines outside the EU."
A group of countries aligned themselves with the European Council's decision to renew for another 12 months, until Nov. 14, 2022, sanctions measures against Venezuelan officials and entities, the EC said Nov. 26 (see 2011120009). Amendments to the statement of reasons for 26 persons on their entity list also were made. The countries are North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Georgia.
Trade was barely touched on during the virtual meeting of President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, said Anna Ashton, vice president of government affairs for the U.S.-China Business Council. Ashton, who was speaking on a Nov. 23 Twitter panel hosted by Neysun Mahboubi, a research scholar at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for the Study of Contemporary China, said that follows a pattern in the administration. She said that "they are unabashedly reframing the relationship… as a competitive one," which makes her wonder where the commercial relationship fits in. The recent panel was reacting to the earlier video call (see 2111160004).
The Bureau of Industry and Security should clarify that certain hospitals affiliated with entries on the Entity List are not subject to Entity list restrictions, said Tory Tibor, global head of trade compliance for medical device company Olympus. Tibor said the clarification would help address confusion among third parties, including forwarders, about what types of entities are captured by Entity List controls.
The European Union released reports this week on its export control and foreign direct investment screening regimes, including statistics on investment clearances and export denials. The report is the first official, sweeping look into the EU’s new dual-use export control regime since it took effect in September (see 2109090007) and its FDI screening mechanism since it launched an updated FDI regime last year (see 1903210049).