On June 2, 2022, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added new Russian vessels and aircraft used by Russian elites, new top Russian government officials, and their companies and operations to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List for aiding in the continued war effort by Russia against Ukraine.  Notably, these designations include more Russian government officials and oligarchs, and two of the largest mining companies in Russia, Severstal PJSC (Severstal) and Nord Gold PLC (Nord Gold).  This means that U.S. persons cannot engage in any transactions with Severstal or Nord Gold unless authorized by a license.

On March 30, 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) modified and expanded a list of aircraft that have flown into Russia in apparent violation of the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”).  We more thoroughly discussed the implications of this list – which was first published on March 18, 2022 – in our blog post here.  The updated list adds 73 additional Boeing-manufactured aircraft and modifies tail and/or serial number information for 13 aircraft previously listed on March 18, 2022.  The full list of owners/operators include Aeroflot, AirBridge Cargo, Aviastar-TU, Alrosa, Atran, Azur Air, Nordstar, Nordwind, Pegas Fly, Pobeda, Rossiya, Royal Flight, S7 Airlines, and Utair (FC Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich’s private Gulfstream jet is also on the list).

The World Trade Organization (WTO) issued a decision that the European Union (EU) is authorized to impose tariffs on approximately $4 billion worth of annual imports from the United States, an amount the WTO found to be “commensurate with the degree and nature of the adverse effects determined to exist.”  The WTO’s decision is part