Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2667 actions· ✨ 89 recent

Presidential Decree No. 606 of 29 August 2025 amends the standing list of foreign-owned Russian assets under "temporary management" (established by Decree No. 302 of 25 April 2023) to add the shares of Air Liquide's Russian subsidiaries, transferring control to M-Logistika LLC, a Russian company. Reported affected entities include Air Liquide's joint venture with steelmaker Severstal and regional operating units (Alabuga, Balakovo, Lipetsk, Ryazan, Kstovo, Kuzbass, Sever Liquid Gas), covering the bulk of the French industrial-gas group's Russian footprint. The decree entered into force on its date of official publication and is one of a running series of company-specific amendments to Decree 302, Russia's reciprocal-response mechanism for placing "unfriendly state" companies' Russian assets under state administration.

The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a $3,882,797 civil settlement with Unicat Catalyst Technologies LLC, an Alvin, Texas-based specialty catalyst supplier, resolving 13 apparent violations of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR, 31 CFR Part 560) and one apparent violation of the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations (VSR, 31 CFR Part 591). OFAC determined the conduct egregious; Unicat had voluntarily self-disclosed. The settlement was concurrent with separate actions by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). The violations, spanning 2016–2021, involved the supply of catalyst products and consulting services to Iranian customers via a Dutch affiliate and Chinese supplier, and the sale of catalysts to Orinoco Iron S.C.S., a blocked Venezuelan government-owned entity, routed through a Chinese intermediary.

On 31 January 2024 Switzerland's Federal Council decided to align with the EU's 12th sanctions package (adopted 18 December 2023) by amending the Ordinance on Measures Relating to the Situation in Ukraine (SR 946.231.176.72), entering into force the same day at 18:00. The update extends Switzerland's Russia-sanctions perimeter to match the EU's additions — including the Russian diamond, steel and other import-revenue restrictions — and adds a new financial-sector prohibition barring Russian nationals and Russia-resident individuals from controlling Swiss crypto-asset service providers, aimed at closing sanctions-circumvention and enforcement gaps.

The Council of the EU adopted Council Regulation (EU) 2023/2878 of 18 December 2023, the EU's 12th sanctions package against Russia, entering into force 19 December 2023. The package introduces a direct EU import ban on Russian non-industrial natural and synthetic diamonds and diamond jewellery effective 1 January 2024, followed by a phased indirect ban on Russian diamonds processed in third countries (from 1 March 2024, complete by 1 September 2024), developed as part of a G7-coordinated diamond restriction. The package also extends import bans on steel and other products generating significant revenue for Russia, and adds further trade and economic restrictions.

Canada registered SOR/2023-46 on 2023-03-10, amending the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations to add section 3.14 and a new Schedule 11. The section prohibits any person in Canada, and any Canadian outside Canada, from importing, purchasing or acquiring the listed steel and aluminum goods from Russia or from any person in Russia. Schedule 11 covers HS Chapter 72 (iron and steel), HS 7301-7306 (sheet piling, railway material, tubes, pipes and profiles) and aluminum products. Goods under a contract entered into before the regulations came into force are exempt; the regulations took effect on registration.

On 24 February 2023, to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the UK government announced a new sanctions package including an import ban on over 140 goods (including iron and steel products processed in third countries), an export ban on battlefield-relevant goods, and 92 new asset-freeze designations. The measures were legislated by the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/440), which came into force on 21 April 2023, except the third-country-processed iron and steel import provision (Regulation 3), which came into force on 30 September 2023.

Switzerland's Federal Council amended the Ordinance on measures in connection with the situation in Ukraine (SR 946.231.176.72) to align with the EU's eighth sanctions package, effective 6pm on 23 November 2022. The amendment creates the Swiss legal basis for an oil price-cap mechanism — banning maritime transport to third countries of Russian-origin crude oil and petroleum products unless purchased at or below a price cap to be set later (the G7/EU $60/bbl cap followed on 3 December 2022; see the companion US OFAC determination of 2022-12-05). It also extends import/export restrictions to additional iron and steel products and aerospace goods, bans the provision of IT, engineering, architecture and legal services to the Russian government and Russian companies, bans Swiss nationals from holding board seats at certain Russian state-owned companies, fully bans crypto-asset wallet/account/custody services to Russian persons regardless of value, and adopts an arms embargo against Russia (extended in part to Ukraine for reasons of Swiss neutrality).

On 6 October 2022 the Council of the European Union adopted Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1904, amending Regulation (EU) No 833/2014, as the EU's eighth package of restrictive measures against Russia. It entered into force 7 October 2022. The regulation's headline measure creates the legal basis for an oil price-cap mechanism: a ban on maritime transport to third countries of Russian-origin crude oil and petroleum products, becoming operational once the Council sets an actual cap level by a separate decision (the G7/EU $60/bbl cap followed on 3 December 2022). The package also expands import bans on steel products (phased through 2024), firearms and ammunition, wood pulp and paper, and certain chemicals, cosmetics and jewellery materials; extends export bans on aviation-sector goods; bans the provision of architectural, engineering, IT-consultancy and legal advisory services to the Russian government and Russian companies; and imposes restrictions on Russian-flagged vessels at the Russian Maritime Register.

The UK laid the Republic of Belarus (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (UKSI 2022/748), in force 5 July 2022, extending the Belarus sanctions regime to mirror measures already imposed on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. The regulations ban export to Belarus of dual-use goods and technology for all purposes, and of critical-industry goods and technology including quantum-computing components, microelectronics, marine and navigation equipment, and aircraft/aircraft parts. They widen existing import bans to cover a greater range of petroleum/mineral products and prohibit import of arms, iron and steel products originating in or consigned from Belarus, and extend financial sanctions barring Belarusian companies from issuing debt or securities in London or obtaining loans from UK banks, and barring UK persons from providing financial services to the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus or the Belarusian Ministry of Finance.

On 16 March 2022 the Swiss Federal Council adopted a total revision of the Ordinance on Measures against Belarus (SR 946.231.116.9), aligning Switzerland's autonomous sanctions with the EU's Belarus regime. It bans imports of Belarusian petroleum products, potassium chloride ("potash"), wood, iron and steel, and cement and rubber products; bans exports of goods used to manufacture or process tobacco products, weapons, surveillance equipment, and goods usable for Belarus's military or security development; and imposes financial sanctions including a ban on public financing for trade with or investment in Belarus, restrictions on securities/loans/ deposits, a prohibition on transactions with the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus, and exclusion of listed Belarusian banks from SWIFT. The ordinance entered into force on the day it was adopted.

On 15 March 2022 the Council of the European Union adopted Regulation (EU) 2022/428, amending Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 (the fourth package of measures against Russia). It bans imports, purchase and transport of the iron and steel products listed in a new Annex XVII that originate in or are exported from Russia, bans the sale or export of Annex XVIII luxury goods to Russia (above EUR 300 per item unless otherwise specified), and prohibits transactions with the Russian state-controlled entities listed in Annex XIX. The Regulation entered into force on the day after its publication in the Official Journal (OJ L 87 I, 15.3.2022), i.e. 16 March 2022.

On 2 March 2022 the Council of the European Union adopted Regulation (EU) 2022/355, amending Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Belarus. It bans importing, purchasing or transporting products originating in or exported from Belarus in wood (Annex X), cement (Annex XI), iron and steel (Annex XII) and rubber (Annex XIII), and extends restrictions to potassium chloride ("potash"), tobacco and mineral products, plus a ban on exporting dual-use goods, machinery (Annex XIV) and goods usable for Belarus's military or security development. The measure responds to Belarus's active facilitation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It entered into force the day after publication in the Official Journal (OJ L 67, 2 March 2022), i.e. 3 March 2022, with a wind-down period to 4 June 2022 for pre-existing contracts.