The Department for International Trade and the Export Control Joint Unit published a notice to exporters on 10 January 2022 regarding compound penalties imposed on ten UK exporters for unlicensed exports of dual-use and military items and breaches of export license conditions between March and November 2021. The compound penalties imposed by HM Revenue & Customs ranged between GBP 1,000 and GBP 54,000 and related to unlicensed exports of dual-use goods, military goods and related activity controlled by The Export Control Order 2008.
The UK’s Plastic Packaging Tax is due to take effect from 1 April 2022 and will be payable by manufacturers and importers of plastic packaging containing less than 30% recycled plastic content at a rate of £200 per metric tonne where certain thresholds are met.
Royal Decree-Law 32/2021 of 28 December 2021 contains the measures agreed on 23 December 2021 within the scope of social dialogue between the Spanish government and the most representative trade unions and business organizations state-wide. This new regulation is the result of a reform process undertaken at the initiative of the government and has basically concluded with significant amendments in three regulatory fields: (i) Temporary employment contracts; (ii) collective bargaining, and (iii) internal flexibility measures or temporary lay-offs.
Russian Federation: New reporting – Requires that foreign companies to disclose direct and indirect shareholders
The Spanish Council of Ministers has passed a preliminary bill that is expected to include additional rules on customer services.
In our virtual sessions, we would like to address the most important announcements and current developments in employment law as well as give you an overview of the coalition’s plans in Germany. Please note that this event will be held in German only.
US partners and former US Department of Justice prosecutors William Devaney and Tom Firestone discuss with UK senior associate Andrew Matheson the ins and outs of the US approach to prosecuting companies and, perhaps more importantly, how that approach could be improved upon.
The National Security and Investment Act came into force this week, completing the overhaul of the UK’s foreign investment rules and creating a standalone foreign investment screening regime. The new rules require businesses and investors to submit mandatory notifications for certain acquisitions of and investments in companies operating in 17 key sectors. The rules also grant the UK Government extensive powers to investigate and impose conditions on a wide range of transactions, including corporate investments as well as asset transactions, on national security grounds.
On 10 December 2021, at the Summit for Democracy, the US, Australia, Denmark, and Norway, released a Joint Statement announcing an Export Controls and Human Rights Initiative to curb the misuse of technologies by certain governments. The initiative aims to combat digital authoritarianism in countries where software and advanced surveillance technologies have been used to hack the communications of political opponents and journalists, shape public opinion, and censor information the government deems threatening.
On Thursday 6 January 2022, the European Commission published Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1, updating the list of dual-use items contained in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2021/821. The EU Dual Use List is updated by the European Commission each year to ensure it remains aligned with the control lists of relevant international non-proliferation regimes, in which Member States (and the EU itself) participate.