The Russian State Duma is considering amendments to Federal Law “On Measures (Countermeasures) in Response to Unfriendly Actions of the USA and (or) other Foreign States” (“Law on Countersanctions“) dated June 4, 2018. On July 24, 2019, Draft Bill proposing additional Russian countersanctions (“Draft“) was approved by the Russian State Duma in the first reading. The amendments to the Draft will be presented till August 22, 2019. The second reading of the Draft has not…
On June 20, 2019, the Russian Prime Minister signed Resolution No. 787-31, introducing changes to Governmental Decree No. 1716-83 dated December 29, 2018 that implemented an import ban with respect to Ukrainian goods (please refer to our previous blog posts of January 18, 2019 and April 23, 2019). Per the changes adopted by Resolution No. 787-31: 1) The import ban does not apply to goods imported to complete customs procedures for processing outside the customs territory and temporary…
President Hassan Rouhani has announced that Iran will withdraw from certain commitments agreed in the 2015 nuclear agreement; this announcement comes a year after the agreement was abandoned by the US, leading to the re-imposition of US sanctions against Iran. In his 8 May 2019 announcement, Hassan Rouhani declared that Iran will stop exporting its surplus enriched uranium. This decision is contrary to the agreement, under which Iran is required to sell its surplus enriched…
On April 30, 2019, the Department of Defense, Defense Acquisition Regulations System, published in the Federal Register an interim rule [Docket DARS-2019-0016] amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 that prohibits acquisition of certain magnets and tungsten from North Korea, China, Russia, and Iran.
Russia has introduced additional sanctions against Ukraine, including banning the export of oil and oil products.
Governmental Resolution No. 460-25, adopted on 18 April 2019 with immediate effect, sets out the following new Russian sanctions on Ukraine:
On 5 April 2019, the WTO circulated the panel report in Russia – Measures Concerning Traffic In Transit (DS512). The decision is the first time that a WTO panel has had to decide the extent of WTO jurisdiction over a claim by a Member that its actions were appropriate under Article XXI, the essential security exemption from WTO rules. Ukraine brought the dispute in September 2016 after the Russian Federation imposed restrictions preventing Ukraine from using roads and railways to trade goods with several former Soviet republics. Ukraine claimed that the measures appear to be inconsistent with:
On March 14, 2019, Canada announced a new round of targeted sanctions against Russia for its continued involvement in Ukraine, adding 114 individuals and 15 entities to its Russia and Ukraine sanctions regulations.
On March 14, 2019, Canada announced a new round of targeted sanctions against Russia for its continued involvement in Ukraine, adding 114 individuals and 15 entities to its Russia and Ukraine sanctions regulations.
On 18 March 2019, the Minister for Foreign Affairs announced that Australia was joining the US, UK, Canada and EU member states in imposing targeted financial sanctions and travel bans against seven Russian individuals for their role in the interception and seizure of Ukrainian naval vessels that were attempting to pass through the Kerch Strait. Australia is concerned by this escalation of tensions in the Sea of Azov in November 2018.
On March 5, 2019, the Federal Register published Presidential Notice of March 4, 2019 Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Ukraine which extends for an additional year the national emergency first declared by Executive Order (EO) 13660 (March 6, 2014) and expanded by EO 13661 (March 16, 2014) and EO 13662 (March 20, 2014). Additional steps were taken in EO 13685 (December 19, 2014) and EO 13849 (September 20, 2018). The national emergency…