Day: May 8, 2022

On 8 May, the Department for International Trade issued a news release saying that it is –

• raising tariffs by 35 percentage points on products such as chemicals, platinum, and palladium, which represented almost 10% of UK exports to Russia in 2021; and
• imposing import restrictions on over £2.4 billion of imports from Russia, excluding energy-related announcements;

It encourages all importers that use Russian imports to source alternative supplies, but the changes will require legislation which will be laid in due course to implement these measures.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-punishes-putin-with-new-round-of-sanctions-on-17-billion-of-goods

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On 8 May, OFAC announced a slew of new sanctions against Russia.  The new designations include the board members of 2 of Russia’s most important banks (Gazprombank and Sberbank), a Russian state-owned bank (the JSC Moscow Industrial Bank or MIB) and 10 of its subsidiaries, a state-supported weapons manufacturer (Promtekhnologiya), and 3 of Russia’s state-controlled TV stations that generate revenue for the state (Channel 1, Russia 1 and NTV). 

OFAC also says that it has identified accounting, trust and corporate formation, and management consulting as categories of services that are subject to a prohibition and are subject to sanctions. 

https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/recent-actions/20220508

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0771

also issued were –

NEW GENERAL LICENSES, DETERMINATIONS OF SANCTIONS APPLICATION AND FAQ

Also on 8 May, OFAC issued new General Licenses 25A (Authorizing Transactions Related to Telecommunications and Certain Internet-Based Communications); 33 (Authorizing the Wind Down of Operations or Existing Contracts Involving Certain Blocked Entities); 34 (Authorizing the Wind Down of Accounting, Trust and Corporate Formation, and Management Consulting Services); and 35 (Authorizing Transactions Involving Credit Rating and Auditing Services).  The Determinations of applying sanctions to the accounting, trust and corporate formation services, and management consulting sectors of the Russian Federation economy; and categories of services: accounting, trust and corporate formation, and management consulting.

https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/126/russia_gl25a.pdf

https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/126/russia_gl33.pdf

https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/126/russia_gl34.pdf

https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/126/russia_gl35.pdf

https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/126/determination_05082022_eo14024.pdf

https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/126/determination_05082022_eo14071.pdf

https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/faqs/added/2022-05-08

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/may/08/us-unveils-new-sanctions-on-russia

Any modest contributions for my time and ongoing expenses are welcomed!  I have a page where you can do so, and where one-off contributions start as low as $3, at https://www.buymea3coffee.com/KoIvM842y