The scope of the two Open General Export Licences (OGEL) for security items has been further refined and amendments to the OGELs were on 26 May 2021 published by the Department for International Trade in a Notice to Exporters. The updated OGELs permit the export of low-risk information security items that rely on encryption technologies listed in Schedule 1 to each OGEL.
As part of its updated 2020 Industrial Strategy, the EU Commission noted that the pandemic has highlighted the trading bloc’s technological and industrial strategy dependencies, which need to be analysed and addressed as part of Europe’s economic recovery.
On 10 May, the Council of the European Union adopted a revised version of the EU’s Dual-Use Regulation. Key changes include two new general export authorisations, stricter controls on cyber-surveillance and technical assistance, changes to the licensing framework, and provisions allowing for increased co-ordination between Member States.
On 22 March 2021, the EU imposed restrictive measures on eleven individuals and four entities in relation to alleged human rights violations, including: four individuals and one company with links to the large-scale arbitrary detentions of Uyghurs in Xinjiang; two individuals and one company in the DPRK, responsible for implementing repressive security…
Further to our previous blog post, the EU has responded to the recent military coup in Myanmar with restrictive measures on eleven individuals. This adds to pre-existing restrictive measures that have been in place since April 2018, as detailed in our previous blog post. These measures included an embargo on arms and equipment that…
On 7 October 2020, the European Commission adopted the revised Annex I (the “Dual-Use List“) to Regulation 428/2009 (the “Dual-Use Regulation“) (see here). The new Dual-Use List came into force on 15 December 2020. The Dual-Use List is refreshed on an annual basis to take into account updates to international non-proliferation…
The Department for International Trade has revealed in a notice to exporters that HMRC has received settlements totalling £700,368.01 for export control violations between March and September 2020. Fines of up to £211,250 were issued to exporters across 19 settlement actions for unlicensed exports of dual use goods, military goods…
The UK Department for International Trade has recently published guidance on how the UK will transpose and implement the EU Blocking Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) 2271/96) post-Brexit. The EU Blocking Regulation seeks to counter the extra-territorial impact of certain US sanctions (the “proscribed US sanctions”), currently in respect of Iran…
On 11 November 2020, the UK Government introduced the long-anticipated National Security & Investment Bill before Parliament. The new law will significantly expand the Government’s existing powers to review the national security implications of transactions and has been timed to coincide with the end of the Brexit Transition Period. The reforms follow concerns globally about foreign control of national businesses active in sensitive sectors, which have further intensified due to the COVID-19 crisis.
On 15 October, the EU imposed Designated Party controls on six individuals and one entity in Russia under the EU’s Chemical Weapons sanctions regime for their alleged involvement in the poisoning of Alexei Navalny with a nerve agent in August 2020. The EU separately designated one Russian individual under the…