Afghanistan: International Trade & Investment

The European Union's International Procurement Instrument has issued its first implementing measure, targeting Chinese medical device suppliers with total exclusion from EU public procurement contracts valued at €5 million or more. The Lyon Administrative Court's landmark ruling establishes that contracting authorities must conduct genuine diligence into bidders' commercial substance, even when registered in the EU, to determine their true origin and eligibility to participate in tenders.

The European Union's new foreign direct investment screening regulation introduces significant procedural improvements and standardised risk assessment criteria, while simultaneously expanding the scope of mandatory filings and eliminating preferential treatment for allied investors. Understanding how these changes will affect cross-border transactions and what steps dealmakers should take during the 18-month transition period is crucial for navigating the reformed regulatory landscape.

The European Union has replaced its expiring steel safeguard measures with a permanent Steel Overcapacity Regulation, cutting duty-free steel imports by an average of 47% and raising the out-of-quota tariff from 25% to 50%. The new framework introduces a complex tariff-rate quota system distributed across 26 product categories, with country-specific allocations based on historical import shares and special treatment for FTA partners. A groundbreaking "melt and pour" traceability requirement will gradually s