The U.K. and India will relaunch talks on a free trade deal in 2025 after failing to reach an agreement in discussions over the last two years (see 2309010034), the U.K. announced this week after a meeting between their two leaders at the Group of 20 summit in Brazil. Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the U.K. will look to lower Indian tariffs “to help British firms export to this dynamic market.”

Foreign investors are increasingly incorporating the regulatory requirements of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. into the due diligence they conduct for U.S. transactions, a trade lawyer said in an interview.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to list all species of giraffes as endangered or threatened, following a 12-month study on the issue, it said in a notice.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European lawmakers this week called for more sanctions against Russia, saying Moscow needs to feel more pressure to withdraw from Ukraine and end the war.

EU ministers this week officially adopted a ban on products made with forced labor, marking one of the final steps in a yearslong lawmaking process designed to eliminate EU imports, exports or other sales of those goods (see 2404230048 and 2403050035). The new regulations will apply about three years after publication in the Official Journal of the EU.

European lawmakers are concerned more aggressive China-related policies put in place by the incoming Trump administration, including around investment screening, could lead more Chinese companies to shift their investments to Europe, possibly raising national and economic security risks for EU member states, they said this week.

Erik Woodhouse, a former senior sanctions official with the State Department, has returned to Crowell & Moring, the firm announced this week. Woodhouse left the State Department in July after serving as deputy assistant secretary for counter threat finance and sanctions and leading the agency's Office of Sanctions Coordination (see 2407310003). His practice will focus on sanctions compliance and issues related to the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering rules and regulations.

The World Trade Organization's published agenda for the Dispute Settlement Body's Nov. 25 meeting includes a request from the EU to suspend certain concessions to the U.S. due to its antidumping and countervailing duties on ripe olives from Spain.

South Korea should be invited to join the Group of 7 nations because of its willingness to work with the U.S. and other allies in imposing sanctions and export controls against Russia, the country’s former foreign affairs minister said this week.

The State Department approved a possible $70 million military sale to the U.K., the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Nov. 18. The sale includes 46 "Tactical Combat Training System Increment II" air combat training systems. The principal contractors will be Collins Aerospace and Leonardo DRS Systems.