On 2 April 2025, the Swiss Federal Council announced an update to the Swiss dual-use goods control lists. This change represents a noteworthy departure from the international export control regimes that have traditionally consensually updated these lists but that are currently blocked due to ongoing geopolitical tensions. As a result, Switzerland has now issued revised lists in line with key trade partners. Dual-use goods are goods that can be used for both civilian and military…
On 12 February 2025, the Swiss Federal Council announced the adoption of the remainder of EU’s 15th package of sanctions against Russia, which entered into force on 13 February 2025 (the official media release is available here). Designations introduced under the 15th EU sanctions package had already been adopted by Switzerland on 23 December 2024. These new listings included 54 individuals and 30 companies and organizations being subject to asset freezes and a ban on…
The Swiss Federal Council recently adopted reports on two EU directives: the first report concerns measures around the recovery and confiscation of illicitly acquired assets (āFirst Reportā), the second report deals with measures around the violations of restrictive measures (āSecond Reportā) (find the official press release here). Both reports compare the existing EU directives, both adopted and published on 24 April 2024, with current Swiss law. Asset recovery and confiscation The First Report analyses the…
On 6 November 2024, the Swiss Federal Council announced the implementation of new, albeit limited, sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which entered into force on 7 November 2024. This update to the Ordinance on Measures against the Islamic Republic of Iran (āIran Ordinanceā) primarily targets goods and technology related to unmanned aircrafts, along with an expansion of the list of designated parties involved in this sector. Reorganization and extension of restrictions on goods…