Why is the sanctions landscape so complex? The complexity largely arises due to the number of parties that have sanctions legislation and regulations in place and the relative ease with which they can introduce new sanctions. Additionally, as the scope of these sanctions can be broad, financial, individual, sectoral or anything in between, it is not uncommon for these sanctions to partially conflict with one another. For example, the US sanctions remain in place preventing a US Person trading with Cuba, however the EU lifted sanctions against Cuba in 2008 and although the EU Blocking Regulation sought to shelter EU companies from the US regime, it appears to have had little success. If you are a European entity with a US shareholder or hold a trading account with a US bank, compliance with both regimes can be challenging, with most businesses adopting the most restricted position to ensure against being found in breach of the US regime by their regulator OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control).
As global businesses, even if you are confident that your operations are 100% sanction compliant, the sanctions landscape can change rapidly and ongoing vigilance is vital to ensure your business can take advantage of every opportunity whilst operating within the law. It is essential to be mindful that your suppliers may also be affected by certain sanctions that you are not. Most importantly, consider your banking and insurance providers, failure to do so may find you having difficulties with insuring your transactions or incoming shipments, bank account suspensions, refusals on payment processing, inability for funds to be credited and in the most severe circumstances withdrawal of insurance and/or banking facilities.
What can you do to make sure your business is sanctions compliant? Businesses with an international supply chain or customer base find it advisable to carry out a risk assessment in relation to sanctions, to identify and understand any areas of sanctions relevance and gauge potential vulnerability to sanctions regulation breach.
Other steps may include; regularly monitoring for sanctions updates, sourcing a software package to assist in sanctions screening, maintaining thorough records on customers and suppliers and seeking specialist advice in relation to any areas of sanctions concern.
Protecting You and Your Customers
At VLS we investigate and resolve lubricant product complaints concerning incorrect performance claims, misleading technical specifications and products that do not meet OEM or stated industry standards.
To date, we have assessed and actioned 59 cases to ensure open and fair competition for all.
As a result, your customers can be confident that lubricant products are correctly described and can deliver what they claim.
For more information on VLS membership call 01442 875922 or email
admin@ukla-vls.org.uk
www.ukla-vls.org.uk
LUBE MAGAZINE NO.151 JUNE 2019
19
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
