On December 18, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General License (GL) 1B (Authorizing Certain Activities Involving Federal State Budgetary Institution Marine Rescue Service) and GL 115 (Authorizing Transactions Involving Gazprombank Related to Civil Nuclear Energy) related to the Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 587 (RuHSR). OFAC simultaneously issued one amended Russia-related Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) 894 and related FAQ 1203. Subsequently, on December 27, 2024, OFAC issued GL 116 (Authorizing Transactions Involving Entities Owned by Bidzina Ivanishvili)...

Read more

The turn of the year is at hand, but the forces shaping the business and investment climate remain familiar. One of the chief characteristics has been the outperformance of the US economy, fueled by an historically large budget deficit, productivity gains, and robust consumption. President-elect Trump has not been inaugurated but he is already a force to be reckoned with, as various tariff threats, and parries over the Panama Canal and Greenland illustrate. The eurozone never fully recovered from the...

Read more

The new Labour government has plans to address the rules on skilled migration "No more gimmicks. No more gesture politics. No more irresponsible, undeliverable promises.” These were the words of Sir Keir Starmer at a recent Interpol conference on immigration. The UK prime minister was building on the position he had laid out on immigration at the Labour Party conference in September, in which he said: “It is the policy of this government to reduce both net migration and our economic dependency upon...

Read more

EU adopts 15th sanctions package targeting Russia’s shadow fleet The Council of the EU formally signed off on its 15th Russian Sanctions Package on Monday, 16 December. The package consists of an additional 54 persons and 30 entities responsible for actions undermining or threatening Ukraine’s territorial integrity. The measures are designed to target Putin’s shadow fleet and weaken Russia’s military and industrial complex. The Council has added 32 new entities to the list of those supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine by imposing stricter export...

Read more