The EU General Court on March 20 annulled the sanctions listing of tire maker Belshyna AAT, finding that the company wasn't a significant source of revenue for the Belarusian government.

The auto industry is grappling with a range of questions about how the EU’s upcoming forced labor-related rules will affect their supply chains, especially for individual car components, an auto industry official and lawyer said this week.

A European Parliament committee this week approved an updated version of new EU-wide supply chain due diligence rules that represent a narrower version from the original proposal but would still require certain companies to conduct specific due diligence on their supply chains to address various environmental and social concerns.

The EU General Court on March 20 annuled the sanctions listing of former Formula One driver Nikita Mazepin, saying the link between Mazepin and his father -- sanctioned Russian oligarch Dmitry Mazepin -- is insufficient for the driver's listing on the Russia sanctions regime.

The EU and Peru agreed on a "list of technical cooperation activities" that the bloc said will help improve Peru's labor system and respect for labor rights, the European Commission announced March 20. The activities cover "social dialogue, freedom of association, child labour, forced labour, labour informality, and the labour inspection system." Implementation of these activities spans a two-year period and will help implement the Trade and Sustainable chapter of the EU-Colombia-Peru-Ecuador Trade Agreement.

The Council of the EU and the European Parliament "provisionally" agreed March 20 to renew until June 5, 2025, the suspension of import duties and quotas on goods from Ukraine for another year, the council announced. The council and parliament will next need to formally approve the agreement for the one-year extension.

The EU and the Philippines are resuming negotiations on a free trade agreement, the European Commission announced March 18. The commission said the goals of the FTA will be market access for goods and services, easier digital and sustainable trade, "effective sanitary and phytosanitary" procedures, sustainable food systems and intellectual property rights protections. The EU also noted the Philippines' large reserves of critical raw materials, "including nickel, copper and chromite," as a reason for resuming the FTA talks. The first round of talks are expected to be held "later this year."

The Council of the EU on March 19 approved reform efforts for the EU Court of Justice, transferring jurisdiction of various issues to the EU General Court. The council must now approve amendments to both courts' rules of procedure before the changes take effect.

A lawsuit between the trustee of a Russian businessman and his "long term" partner will go to trial after the U.K. High Court of Justice on March 13 declined to dismiss their defense, setting up a case that could shed light on the role sanctioned parties play in property disputes.

The U.K. HM Revenue & Customs announced on March 18 that businesses have until June 4 to move their export declarations to the new Customs Declaration Service platform from the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight service. After June 4, declarations no longer can be submitted via the old service. The British customs office said that the Customs Declaration Service, which has been running since 2018 for import declarations, is "more user-friendly" and has "greater functionality."