(Jan 30): The European Union’s drastic plan to restrict exports of Covid-19 shots is more of a political ploy as prospects of successfully suing AstraZeneca Plc for reining in supplies of its vaccine appear slim, lawyers and trade experts said. The bloc’s executive arm announced on Friday that vaccine makers including AstraZeneca must obtain prior authorization before sending shots manufactured in the bloc to other countries. The escalation follows a very public dispute with the company triggered by production delays at a Belgian plant. “It’s pure damage control,” says Philip Haellmigk, an attorney in Munich who specializes in trade and customs controls. “This is a reaction to the failure of the EU to order enough vaccines in time” and is now about using “the tool of export control licenses to keep the vaccines in the EU,” he said.