Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., announced April 9 that they are introducing a bill designed to strengthen sanctions enforcement against Russia’s “ghost fleet” of oil-carrying ships.
The EU and the United Arab Emirates agreed to launch negotiations on a free trade deal, the European Commission said April 9. The talks will focus on liberalizing trade in goods while "deepening cooperation in strategic sectors," including critical raw materials. The commission is confident both sides "can move swiftly and ambitiously," it said, adding that trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic "will soon return to the UAE to take the talks forward."
Senior trade officials from China and the EU spoke about U.S. tariffs and other trade issues during an April 10 call, and they also agreed to “start consultations” on boosting trade between the two sides “as soon as possible,” China’s Ministry of Commerce said, according to an unofficial translation. Those talks will include “in-depth issues related to market access, create a more favorable business environment for enterprises” and touch on electric vehicle trade (see 2411080024), China said. “Both sides support restarting the China-EU trade remedy dialogue mechanism, discussing trade diversion issues, and properly handling trade frictions.”
The U.K. this week amended four entries under its domestic counterterrorism sanctions list to make them subject to "director disqualification" sanctions. These sanctions block them from directly or indirectly being a director of a U.K. company. The people are Mohammed Fawaz Khaled, Aozma Sultana, Nazem Ahmad and Mustafa Ayash.
The U.K. added four Georgian officials to its global human rights sanctions regime April 10. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation sanctioned Shalva Bedoidze, Georgia's first deputy minister of internal affairs; Giorgi Gabitashvili, general prosecutor; Karlo Katsitadze, head of the special investigatory service; and Mirza Kezevadze, deputy chief of the special task department.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned United Arab Emirates-based Indian national Jugwinder Singh Brar for owning multiple shipping companies that operate a fleet of vessels helping Iran move sanctioned goods. OFAC designated his UAE-based companies Prime Tankers LLC and Glory International FZ-LLC, along with India-based companies Global Tankers Private Limited and B and P Solutions Private Limited, and more than 30 vessels with ties to the companies or Brar.
President Donald Trump this week ordered his administration to reduce regulatory restrictions around sales of weapons and other military items to U.S. partners, saying he wants to speed up foreign military sales and make the process more “transparent.”
House Select Committee on China ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., and 10 other committee Democrats urged the Commerce Department April 9 to reconsider its plans to pull back from traditional export control dialogues with allies, including the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC).
Landon Heid, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be assistant secretary of commerce for export administration (see 2502120020), said April 10 that he wants the Bureau of Industry and Security to wage a “continuous battle every single day” to prevent China from obtaining restricted U.S. technology.
EU member states this week voted in favor of the European Commission's proposal to impose counter-tariffs in response to recent U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum.