Sanctions Tracker Summary – Global Sanctions Responses to the Crisis in Ukraine

Updates from March 14, 2022 through March 18, 2022

Within a brief period, the international sanctions environment applicable to trade with Russia has been fundamentally transformed.  We have published a number of recent updates regarding sanctions measures that have been proposed and enacted in several jurisdictions as a response to the conflict in Ukraine.  These updates are available on Sanctions Notes, which utilizes our deep network of sanctions experts to keep you at the forefront of major developments in sanctions measures, export control and trade regulations, and other compliance issues.

We invite you to subscribe to Sanctions Notes here.

In the past week, we have analyzed the following notable developments:

• Australia Updates. On March 11, 2022, Australia announced that it will prohibit the import of oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas, coal and other energy products from Russia.  Australia also extended its sanctions to a number of additional persons and entities through amendments to the Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011 (Cth).  The full posts are available here and here.
• EU/UK Updates. The EU and UK announced several new Ukraine-related sanctions in the past week.  In particular, the UK passed The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 on March 15, which included, among other things, provision for an expedited procedure under which the UK can impose asset freezing sanctions on designated persons already subject to sanctions in an allied jurisdiction.  Also on March 15, the Council of the EU announced the formal agreement of a fourth package of EU sanctions on Russia, including a ban on new investment in the Russian energy sector and expansion of the existing trade sanctions regarding equipment, technology and services relevant to the energy sector.  The full posts are available here and here.
• US Updates. The US announced significant updates to its Ukraine-related sanctions measures in the past week.  These included President Biden’s recent Executive Order imposing new prohibitions on certain imports, exports, and new investments concerning Russia.  They also included new sanctions designations for numerous individuals and entities, including several “Russian and Kremlin elites, oligarchs, and Russia’s political and national security leaders who have supported Russian Vladimir Putin’s brutal and illegal invasion of Ukraine.”  The full posts are available here and here.

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We will continue to monitor developments in this area and encourage you to subscribe to be kept informed of latest developments.  Please contact the authors or your usual Herbert Smith Freehills contacts for more information.