On September 10, 2016 the Russian Government issued Decree No. 897 extending its food embargo list to include salt and sea water classified under HS code 2501 00 (i.e., “Salt (including table salt and denatured salt) and pure sodium chloride, whether or not in aqueous solution, or containing added anti-caking or free flowing agents; sea water”). The limitation should come into force on November 1, 2016.
After the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (“DPRK“) carried out its fifth nuclear test last Friday 12th September, some press reports indicated that the United Nations Security Council (“UNSC“) had agreed to impose new sanctions on the nation. The DPRK has been hit by five sets of UNSC sanctions since it first tested a nuclear device in 2006, most recently on 2nd March 2016 (see our related blog post here).
On Friday 2nd September, Boris Johnson, the UK Foreign Secretary, indicated that the UK will continue to support the EU sanctions regime against Russia, stating that “events in Ukraine are still very worrying, and it’s important I think that we continue to keep pressure up on Russia and we see progress based on the Minsk Agreement. There can be no relaxation of that pressure until such time as we see the Minsk Agreement being advanced“.