A bipartisan group of four House members introduced a resolution Jan. 28 calling for additional sanctions against Belarusian officials following that country’s recent “fraudulent” presidential election that extended the longtime rule of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko.
The Census Bureau is making permanent a “fillable” voluntary self-disclosure form that it launched as a pilot program in August, saying the form has allowed the agency to receive more “timely and complete” data and more efficiently process disclosures. The Census Trade Regulations Branch will officially begin implementing the disclosure form March 3, the agency said in a Jan. 30 email to industry.
The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network this week rescinded two alerts that warned banks about transactions that may have been funding “Israeli extremist settler violence” in violation of U.S. sanctions (see 2402010053). The alerts had asked banks and other financial institutions to submit suspicious activity reports to FinCEN if they believed a transaction may have been tied to West Bank violence. The move came days after the Office of Foreign Assets Control, under the direction of President Donald Trump, officially removed sanctions from all people and entities designated under a Biden-era sanctions authority that had targeted violent Israeli settlers and organizations in the region (see 2501240011).
Companies should consider carrying out extra due diligence when vetting customers that could have connections to address-only listings on the Entity List, a trade lawyer and former Bureau of Industry and Security official said.
European Parliament members this week probed the EU’s new trade commissioner about how he’s handling President Donald Trump’s tariff threats, with some members calling on the EU to prepare for retaliation.
The leaders of the House Select Committee on China urged the Trump administration Jan. 30 to tighten export controls on computing chips that could enable China’s development of artificial intelligence.
The U.S. and the EU should launch a new “ambitious agenda” to address trade and technology challenges posed by China, including streamlining the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council and building on sanctions and export controls, the Center for European Policy Analysis said this month.
Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., reintroduced a bill Jan. 28 that would authorize the administration to sanction Chinese chemical companies and government officials who don't do appropriate compliance and oversight to prevent their chemicals from being sold to narcotraffickers. The Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act was referred to the House Foreign Affairs, Financial Services, Oversight and Government Reform, and Judiciary committees. Barr previously introduced the bill in May 2023 (see 2305230020), and the House of Representatives passed it in July 2023.
The Census Bureau added five new license codes in the Automated Export System to reflect the Bureau of Industry and Security's recent export controls on advanced computing chips (see 2501130026), Census said in emails to industry this week.
Companies should expect new export controls from both the U.S. and China to “remain frequent and volatile,” especially around advanced technologies and critical minerals, Eversheds Sutherland said in a client alert this month. The firm pointed to U.S. controls on certain chip equipment in December (see 2412020016) followed by China’s response, which included new export restrictions on certain key critical minerals and other dual-use items being shipped to the U.S. for military uses (see 2412030022).