Lithuania barred transport of EU-sanctioned goods via rail lines through its land to the Russian region of Kaliningrad, The Washington Post reported. The Russian government said June 21 that Lithuania would face "serious" consequences for the move. The Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said June 20 that the transit of passengers and goods not covered by EU sanctions will continue uninterrupted. The Foreign Ministry pointed to the fourth package of EU sanctions to discuss the trade that had been halted between Lithuania and Kaliningrad -- a Russian area that houses Moscow's Baltic Sea Fleet but has no land connection to the rest of the country -- and that includes steel and other ferrous metal products.
U.S.-EU cooperation on export controls, sanctions and other trade issues bodes well for the future of multilateral cooperation, said Rupert Schlegelmilch, a senior trade official with the European Commission, speaking during a June 22 event hosted by the Atlantic Council. Schlegelmilch specifically praised the work of the Trade and Technology Council’s export control working group (see 2206010007 and 2205160033), which allowed both sides to respond quickly to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
The EU renewed until June 23, 2023, its sanctions regime over Russia's annexation of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, the European Council announced June 20. Originally introduced in 2014, the restrictions' sectoral sanctions include import bans on goods originating from Crimea or Sevastopol into the EU and financial investments from the affected areas. The council also barred the export of certain goods and technologies to Crimean companies or for use in Crimea.
Companies with Chinese business ties should consider how they would be affected if the U.S. began imposing Russia-style export controls against China, said Crowell & Moring trade lawyer Jeff Snyder. Speaking during a June 21 webinar hosted by the firm, Snyder said his practice has begun conducting exercises to imagine how potential China-related controls would affect a business’ operations, which can help companies assess their risk exposure and make preemptive plans so they aren’t caught off-guard by trade disruptions.
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The Center for a New American Security last week published an overview of the international sanctions strategy against Russia, including potential escalatory steps, enforcement so far and potential evasion tactics. The post also includes a breakdown of the sanctions by target and sector, detailing the number of sanctions that have been used to punish Russian elites compared to the country’s defense, transportation, financial, technology and energy sectors.
The European Commission updated its Frequently Asked Questions pages that cover its Russia sanctions regime. The new sections relate to imports and purchase of goods, sale of securities, execution of prior contracts and export-related restrictions. Under the contracts FAQs, the commission addresses what is a contract, whether framework contracts are considered as contracts that benefit from the prior contracts exception to the sanctions regime, and what is an ancillary contract, among other things. The securities FAQs cover whether the sanctions apply to transferable securities issued by private companies and whether the sanctions cover the sale of transferable securities to non-Russian entities that are owned by a Russian national, among other scenarios.
The U.K. amended or corrected a number of entries under several of its sanctions regimes. Under the Syria sanctions list, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended the entries for Fares Chehabi, president of the Aleppo Chamber of Industry; Khodr Ali Taher, director of Ella Towers; and the Syrian Petroleum Company. OFSI then corrected the entry for Adnan Slakho, former minister for industry. Under the Libya sanctions list, OFSI amended the entry for Khalifa Ghwell, defense minister of the General National Congress. Under the Iran (Human Rights) sanctions list, OFSI amended seven entries. This listings for Ali Khalili, Ali-Akbar Yasaghi, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, Mortez Tamaddon, Mostafa Bozorgnia, Moussa Khalilollahi and Toraj Kazemi were updated, and all of the individuals remain subject to an asset freeze. Four entries under the Chemical Weapons sanctions regime were amended: the agency updated the listings for Vladimir Stephanovich Alexseyev, first deputy head of the GRU, Russia's military intelligence agency; Vladimir Mikhailovich Bogdanov, former director of the Criminalistics Institute and head of the FSB (Federal Security Service) Special Technology Center; Kirill Vasilyev, director of the Criminalistics Institute at the FSB; and Alexei Semenovich Sedov, head of the FSB 2nd Service. All are believed to have been involved in the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny.
The U.K. in two June 16 notices added entries to its sanctions regimes on Russia and Myanmar. Under the Russia sanctions list, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation sanctioned 12 people and corrected one entry. Under the Myanmar sanctions list, OFSI added six entries.
Sanctions regimes over the last 20 years have become broader and more comprehensive, which has created unintended consequences for industry and “ordinary people,” said Erica Moret, a senior researcher at the Geneva Graduate Institute, speaking during a June 16 virtual conference hosted by the Center for a New American Security. She said countries should look to narrow their sanctions measures and provide clear exemptions or risk further over-compliance.