The European Union is considering banning certain batteries that don’t meet environmental standards, potentially affecting battery manufacturers and exporters worldwide, according to a Dec. 31 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. European Commission officials recently said the EU is developing “green standards” for batteries, the report said, and suggested the EU could impose import restrictions on batteries that cause toxic waste, with imports from Southeast Asia particularly at risk.

The United Kingdom will soon update its list of dual-use items that are controlled for export, the Department for International Trade said in a Dec. 31 notice. The changes will reflect decisions recently made by “international export control regimes” and which will be adopted by the European Union, the notice said. The DIT said it will publish another notice when the regulations have been updated along with “associated changes to open general export licenses.” The European Commission recently published details of the upcoming changes agreed to at the Wassenaar Arrangement (see 1912120011), which include changes to export controls for discrete microwave transistors, certain software, lasers, diffusion bonding technology and more.

In the Dec. 30 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

In the Dec. 27 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

The United Kingdom's Department for International Trade updated its guidance on import controls, according to a Dec. 27 notice. The guidance includes changes to an open general import license that pertains to certain chemical weapons, firearms, mines and other dual-use goods.

In the Dec. 23 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade updated its firearms export control forms, according to a Dec. 23 notice. The forms contain information on various export licenses used by the country’s firearms and ammunition exporters.

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade on Dec. 20 updated its collection of open general export licenses for exports to Saudi Arabia. The changes updated OGELs and open general trade control licenses that permit exports to Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners carrying out military operations in Yemen, the DIT said.

The United Kingdom on Dec. 20 released summaries of its trade agreements with Morocco, Kosovo and Jordan to take effect after Great Britain leaves the European Union. The summaries contain information on provisions on intellectual property, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, rules of origin, preferential tariffs and quotas, and more.

KPMG on Dec. 20 released an alert on value-added tax identification numbers in the European Union’s upcoming “quick fixes” VAT reform system, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2020. The identification numbers will be used to apply exemptions for supplies within the EU, KPMG said. Previously, VAT exemptions could not be refused “merely because of the fact that the supplier did not receive a valid VAT identification number from the customer.” With the upcoming change, the use of a valid identification number of the customer will be “a material condition of the VAT exemption for intra-Community supplies,” KPMG said. If the customer does not provide a valid number, the supplier “cannot apply the VAT exemption and will need to invoice local VAT of the EU Member State of dispatch of the goods.”