Switzerland, following the EU's lead, sanctioned two people and one entity for allegedly spreading propaganda promoting Russia's war in Ukraine. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs listed former Ukrainian politicians Artem Marchevskyi and Viktor Medvedchuk, along with the Voice of Europe media outlet. The EU sanctioned these same parties last month (see 2405280062). Switzerland also amended the listings of 12 people and 17 entities under its Russia sanctions regime.
Jacob Kopnick
Jacob Kopnick, Associate Editor, is a reporter for Trade Law Daily and its sister publications Export Compliance Daily and International Trade Today. He joined the Warren Communications News team in early 2021 covering a wide range of topics including trade-related court cases and export issues in Europe and Asia. Jacob's background is in trade policy, having spent time with both CSIS and USTR researching international trade and its complexities. Jacob is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Public Policy.
The World Trade Organization on June 7 said it upgraded its "e-GPA Gateway," its online platform on trade and government procurement, to provide "more user-friendly access to information" related to parties to the Agreement on Government Procurement 2012. The platform now includes a "tool to browse each party's market access commitments," reporting tools on the "thresholds set by each GPA party above which public contracts can be granted," an advanced search engine allowing searches of specific parties and products, a tool to search for "modifications of coverage," and greater access to data on current procurement opportunities.
The EU General Court on May 29 annulled the European Council's sanctions designation of Russian businessperson Farkhad Akhmedov, founder of Russian gas equipment supplier Tansley Trading and minority shareholder of Northgas. The court said that the council "made an error of assessment" in sanctioning Akhmedov "by considering that the applicant was a leading businessperson involved in economic sectors which provided a substantial source of revenue to" the Russian government.
The EU General Court on May 29 dismissed a suit from Belarusian Airlines AAT challenging the validity of its 2021 sanctions designation.
The Council of the European Union on May 31 added three entities and six people to its North Korea sanctions regime for "sanctions evasion activities" that could "generate funds for" the nation's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The entities are Hapjanggang Trading Corp., a subordinate to the North Korean Ministry of Rocket Industry; Korea Namgang Trading Corp., which expatriates North Korean workers to generate revenue for Pyongyang; and Eastern Stevedoring Co., which operates the terminals at the main container port of the Russian Vostochny Port. The EU also sanctioned Song Rim, Kim Chol Sok, Rim Yong Hyok, Kim Kyong Nam and An Se-Ho, who work for the North Korean government or North Korean companies, and Oleg Nikolaevich Kozhemyako, who played an "instrumental role" in the September 2023 visit of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Russia.
The EU on May 31 opened compliance proceedings against Colombia regarding the South American nation's alleged failure to comply with World Trade Organization rulings regarding its antidumping duties on frozen fries from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, the EU's Directorate-General for Trade announced.
China will reimpose tariffs on 134 items from Taiwan because Taipei didn't reciprocate with similar tariff concessions as part of a trade deal with Beijing, China's Ministry of Commerce announced May 31, according to an unofficial translation. The ministry said it revoked the previously issued tariff suspensions because Taiwan violated the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement on gradually eliminating tariffs on most of the goods traded between the parties. The tariffs will be reinstated starting June 15, Chinese state-run news outlet Xinhua reported.
World Trade Organization members last week agreed on chairpersons for 13 of the body's subsidiary committees for 2024, the WTO announced:
The Council of the European Union sanctioned six people and three entities from Iran for transferring unmanned aerial vehicles to Russia for use in its war in Ukraine, the council announced May 31. The entities are Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, a "central entity in the command chain of Iran's armed forces"; Kavan Electronics Behrad, an Iran-based UAV procurement firm; and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, which delivers Iranian UAVs. The council also listed Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad-Reza Gharaei Ashtiani, along with a commander of the IRGC Qods Force and the head of the sanctioned Iranian Aviations Industries Organization. Sanctioned parties are subject to an asset freeze and travel ban.
Lars Winkelbauer, former executive at Polar Air Cargo Worldwide, was sentenced to four years in prison on May 30 for his role in a scheme to defraud his former employer out of more than $32 million, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced.