The EU believes China has suspended its recently announced rare earth export controls for all countries, not just the U.S., but the bloc is still gathering information, European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill told reporters in Brussels Nov. 3.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a new general license this week that authorizes certain transactions with three aircraft that had been blocked under the Belarus Sanctions Regulations. The license, which has no expiration date, authorizes transactions with:
Lukoil, the major Russian energy company sanctioned by the U.S. last week (see 2510220050), has accepted an offer for its international business, Lukoil International GmbH, to be bought by Gunvor Group, a multinational energy commodities trading company, Lukoil announced Oct. 30. It said the agreement depends on Gunvor obtaining "permission" from the Office of Foreign Assets Control, "as well as any other applicable licenses, permits and other authorizations in other applicable jurisdictions."
The U.S. will suspend the Bureau of Industry and Security’s 50% rule for one year in exchange for Beijing postponing its export restrictions on rare earths for one year, the two sides announced Oct. 30.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a new general license this week that authorizes certain transactions involving the German subsidiaries of major Russian energy company Rosneft, which OFAC sanctioned earlier this month (see 2510220050). General License 129, issued Oct. 29, authorizes certain transactions with Rosneft Deutschland GmbH and RN Refining & Marketing GmbH, along with their majority-owned entities, through 12:01 a.m. ET April 29. OFAC also updated one FAQ about its restrictions on petroleum services involving Russia.
The U.K. added new FAQs 170 and 171 to address its most recent general license covering sanctions-related legal services (see 2510230018). The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said the sanctions license "resets the fees and expense caps," which sit at just over $2.66 million, for covered legal services ranging from Oct. 29, 2025, until the license expires on April 28, 2026. OFSI also amended the license to cover "most UK autonomous sanctions regimes." In addition, it allows permitted payments to be made from abroad into U.K. or certain non-U.K. bank accounts, the agency said.
The U.S. should follow up its new Russia energy sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil with more designations in the coming weeks, said John Herbst, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, in a commentary published by the Atlantic Council. To push for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump should “prepare for a monthslong ratcheting up of pressure on Moscow,” Herbst said. “At the moment, all [Russian President Vladimir] Putin sees for sure is another round of sanctions. It must not be the last round.”
The U.K. issued a new general license Oct. 22 authorizing certain transactions with the German subsidiaries of major Russian energy firm PJSC Rosneft Oil: Rosneft Deutschland and RN Refining & Marketing. The license authorizes the "continuation of business" activities with those subsidiaries -- including payments, contracts and the exchange of economic resources -- and any entity they own or control. The license, which expires Oct. 22, 2027, comes about a week after the U.K. sanctioned Rosneft (see 2510160021).
The Treasury Department on Oct. 22 announced new sanctions against Russia -- including against major energy companies Rosneft and Lukoil -- due to Moscow’s “lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine.”
The U.K. announced a host of new Russia-related sanctions this week, targeting major energy firms Rosneft and Lukoil, along with four oil terminals in China, 44 tankers in Russia’s shadow fleet and more. The U.K. also said it’s banning imports of oil products refined in third countries using Russian-origin crude oil.