The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a Venezuelan state-run bank and five related entities, OFAC said in a March 22 notice, increasing pressure on the Nicolas Maduro-led regime in potentially the most impactful move against the country since January, when the U.S. sanctioned Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A, the country's state-run oil company.
In the March 22 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices as of March 22 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
In the March 21 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The European Union issued a new guidance document detailing documentation that may be used as proof of legal acquisition or importation for protected wildlife. The proof may be required when a live animal listed on the EU’s list of protected species is being exported or re-exported, or otherwise sold or used for commercial purposes. For imported live animals listed in Annex B of the EU’s protected wildlife list (i.e., generally species listed in Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Appendix II), minimum documentation includes a copy of the import permit with customs endorsement or, if the applicable party is not the importer, either an original copy of the permit handed over by the importer or, if not available, information including the species, details on import permits and the animal’s origin, a detailed description of the animal and an original signature and stamp of the last seller, among other things, the guidance said.
Valery Kosmachov was extradited from Estonia to face federal charges in the U.S. related to a "scheme to illegally procure sophisticated electronic components" and smuggle them to Russia, the Department of Justice said in a March 20 news release. The indictment was filed in September 2017 but was only unsealed on March 20, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California. Kosmachov was arrested in September 2018 and extradited to the U.S. on March 14, the DOJ said.
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control updated its Specially Designated Nationals List while also issuing an updated guide on “addressing North Korea’s illicit shipping practices,” which includes risk mitigation measures and a summary of penalties for violators, according to a March 21 notice. The changes made to OFAC’s SDN list include the additions of three individuals associated with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an update to the SDN listing for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and the addition of two Chinese entities that violated North Korean sanctions regulations. The two Chinese entities are Dalian Haibo International Freight Co. and Liaoning Danxing International Forwarding Co., according to the notice.
In the March 20 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
India will delay its ban on all scrap plastic imports for at least five months, moving the ban’s start date to the end of August, according to a report from the website Resource Recycling. The plastic ban was originally announced on March 6, the report said, as India cited environmental concerns and hoped to boost domestic production. A memo from India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said that the reason for the delay was “to ensure smooth compliance,” the report said. The ban ends previous exemptions that allowed plastic imports by Indian business in “certain designated economic development districts,” the report said. The U.S. exported 294 million pounds of scrap plastic to India last year, according to the report, composing about 12 percent of the U.S.’s total plastic scrap exports.
Venezuela is asking a World Trade Organization panel to intervene in U.S.-imposed sanctions on the country, including those imposed on Petroleos de Venezuela, the state-run oil company, according to a memo Venezuela sent to the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body chairperson. The U.S. “refused” consultations with Venezuelan officials after the country requested consultations in December, prompting Venezuela to take the next step and request establishment of a WTO dispute resolution panel. In the memo, Venezuela describes the U.S. actions as “coercive and trade-restrictive measures” and an “attempt to isolate it economically.” Venezuela also called them “discriminatory.”