U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the Trump administration will recommend renewal of USMCA only if 20 issues can be resolved, and maybe more, as he told Congress this isn't an exhaustive list.
Open-source intelligence software firm WireScreen this week launched a dataset that tracks electronics trade between China and Russia, it said. The data "captures multiyear electronics trade activity," including details on supplier-customer relationships, product origins and shipment values, the firm said, including the "continued movement of Western-branded electronics through Chinese transshipment points to Russian buyers." WireScreen said the data allows users to identify high-risk parties actively shipping to sanctioned jurisdictions and monitor transshipment patterns.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week renewed two Russia-related general licenses that authorize certain transactions related to crude oil originating from the Sakhalin-2 project and certain transactions with Russian entities related to civil nuclear energy.
The U.S. needs to significantly improve its enforcement of Russia sanctions, especially against the country’s shadow fleet and oil industry, said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and other speakers at a Brookings Institution event this week.
The House passed a bill by voice vote Dec. 15 that would reauthorize the Federal Maritime Commission through FY 2027. The reauthorization was originally to be extended through FY 2029 but was shortened to match a recently enacted Coast Guard reauthorization bill (see 2506300066 and 2509180046). The FMC legislation now heads to the Senate for its consideration.
The Senate approved a bill Dec. 11 that would give Taiwan the shorter formal congressional notification timelines and higher weapons value notification thresholds enjoyed by NATO members, plus Australia, Israel, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea (see 2505140001 and 2510220035).
Although his bill to restrict exports of advanced AI chips didn't make it into the final FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which lawmakers unveiled this week (see 2512080048), Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said late Dec. 9 that he's not giving up on his proposal.
Mexico Customs announced that it will delay mandatory use of its new electronic value manifest until April 1, amid concerns over industry readiness and the potential for processing delays at Mexican ports of entry around the original Dec. 9 deadline (see 2512050039).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week removed two Russians from its Specially Designated Nationals List that it had originally sanctioned for either helping to provide Russia with export controlled items or for operating in Russia's technology sector.
Canada last week lifted certain sanctions against Syria, removing the country from its List of Foreign State Supporters of Terrorism and taking Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham off the List of Terrorist Entities under the Canadian Criminal Code.