The U.K. released a new general sanctions license to cover certain legal services from Oct. 29 through April 28. Part A of the license establishes that the payment of legal fees and expenses must be only for legal services relating to the representation of a sanctioned party that was entered into prior to the date of the sanctioned party's designation. Legal fees under Part A can't exceed $2.66 million. Part B lays out the conditions for use of the license for legal services that aren't "based on a prior obligation."

The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation is reminding traders to submit frozen asset reports to OFSI by Nov. 30 if they hold or control funds or economic resources belonging to or owned, held or controlled by a sanctioned person. Those reports should include details of all funds or economic resources frozen in the U.K. and overseas "where these funds or economic resources are subject to UK financial sanctions legislation," OFSI said in an Oct. 23 email to industry. The reports should also include the value of all those assets as of close of business on Sept. 30. "Where the funds or economic resources relate to shares, securities, or other debt or payment instruments, the GBP value should be provided in your report."

The European Automobile Manufacturers Association said it's "deeply concerned" about potential disruptions to European vehicle manufacturing stemming from a trade dispute over Chinese-owned Dutch semiconductor firm Nexperia, especially "if the interruption of Nexperia chips supplies cannot be immediately resolved."

The EU is abandoning a plan announced last month that would have postponed its new deforestation reporting requirements for one year, instead granting a six-month grace period for certain companies.

The U.K.'s Licensing for International Trade (LITE) system will be unavailable starting the morning of Oct. 27 for "essential maintenance," the country's Department for Business & Trade said in an email to users this week. "Exporters will not be able to access the system during this time," the agency said. "We hope to resume the service as soon as possible."

The EU officially published in its Oct. 20 Official Journal the revised carbon border adjustment mechanism, which is expected to exempt 90% of European importers from the new rules (see 2509290011). The European Commission said this "marks the final step in the formal adoption process," allowing the bloc to soon require taxes on certain imports covered by the carbon duty. Traders must pay taxes beginning in 2026 (see 2310020037) and 2410170036).

The Council of the European Union on Oct. 20 largely agreed to a European Commission proposal (see 2506180058) that would ban certain Russian gas imports starting on Jan. 1 "while maintaining a transition period for existing contracts." The council next must negotiate with the European Parliament on the final text for the proposal.

EU and Chinese officials are planning to meet in Brussels in the “coming days” to discuss China’s new export controls over rare earths 2510090021), said Maros Sefcovic, the EU’s trade and economic security commissioner, in an Oct. 21 social media post. Sefcovic said Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao will travel to Europe, and the EU hopes to “find urgent solutions on export controls.”

Belgium and Sweden this month joined the EU's Centralized Clearance for Import (CCI) system, which the bloc is hoping to establish as its "one-stop shop" for customs clearance into the EU. The system -- which has already been available for use by European businesses in Bulgaria, Estonia, Spain, Luxembourg, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Croatia and Italy -- allows customs authorities of different member states to act as "one customs authority for the clearance of goods," enabling traders to submit customs declarations to their member state "for goods physically presented to a customs office in any other Member State" operating as part of CCI.

The European Commission imposed antidumping duties Oct. 20 on steel track shoes from China, the Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security announced. The AD rate is 62.5% and is imposed following the imposition of provisional duties, which have been collected since April 22. Steel track shoes are used as parts for tracked equipment that's used in the construction and mining sectors.