Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen met with the Economic Working Group (EWG) and Financial Working Group (FWG) on April 16. Chian Daily, a party organ, cited Liu Ying, a researcher at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies of Renmin University of China, as saying the meeting was "of great significance in delivering a positive signal that China-US economic and financial ties are steadily recovering."

During thier biennial meeting in  in Washington, DC ministers of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) reaffirmed their commitment to combat financial crime, and fully support the FATF as the standard-setter for preventing and combatting money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (AML/CFT/CPF). Ministers highlighted the threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) to international peace and security.

The chair for the Doha fisheries subsidies negotiations Ambassador Einar Gunnarsson of Iceland issued two documents for members on Friday to mull over some difficult issues on which ministers failed …

Wednesday the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a markup of six pieces of trade legislation, including the End China’s De Minimis Abuse Act , introduced by Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC), …

The USDA Foreign Agricultural Service reports the re-imposition of tariffs on non-US rice by the government of Costa Rica has led to a rebound in demand for US traders. Costa Rica reinstated 35 …

The USTR has requested a Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) panel under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to resolve a labor dispute at call center operator Atento Servicios, S.A. de C.V. .    At the conclusion of its 45-day review period, Mexico found a denial of rights had existed, but determined that Atento Servicios had taken the necessary actions to remediate the denial of rights during Mexico’s review period. The United States disagrees with this determination and is requesting establishment of an RRM panel to review the situation.

The Feceral Maritime Commission seeks responses on what data elements are communicated between transportation service providers and importers/exporters. The Commission also seeks information on how changes to information …

U.S. Department of Commerce and TSMC Arizona  a subsidiary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC), have signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT) to provide up to $6.6 billion in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act.

Six decades after the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was established to defend developing nations' role in global trade, Rebeca Grynspan, the organisation’s secretary general, said that the time has come for its image to be refreshed. Sitting behind a blue hard-copy mockup of the agency’s new name, UN Trade and Development, Grynspan told journalists Tuesday the rebrand “represents a stronger and renewed organisation”.

Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Chair Erica Y. Williams announced a record $25 million fine sanctioning KPMG Netherlands for widespread improper answer sharing and the firm's multiple misrepresentations about its knowledge of the misconduct.

Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich) is urging the Administration to protect the US automotive sector from the China’s expansion of auto exports by hiking tariffs on Chinese vehicles. “The influx of low-cost Chinese vehicles backed by the CCP poses a threat to the US automotive sector,” Rep. Dingell and eight other members wrote in a letter to US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

The Administration is calling on Congress to give it additional tools to prevent terrorist groups and other malign actors from using crypto-currencies to circumvent US sanctions. Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo told the Senate Banking Committee last week that the Administration needs “additional tools to protect the American people.”

President Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida avoided directly saying whether they discussed Nippon Steel’s proposed $14 billion purchase of the US Steel Corporation during a joint press conference, The proposed sale is currently under review by the inter-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and anti-trust regulators.

Legislation to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act trade preferences program has been introduced by Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho). The African Growth and Opportunity Act Renewal and Improvement Act of 2024 would provide a long-term extension of AGOA, along with improvements to the program’s eligibility criteria.

In a joint action with UK officials, the Treasury Department issued two new prohibitions to disrupt the revenue that Russia earns from its export of aluminum, copper, and nickel.  This new action prohibits the import of Russian-origin aluminum, copper, and nickel into the US and UK, and limits the use of Russian-origin aluminum, copper, and nickel on global metal exchanges and in over-the-counter derivatives trading.

Global goods trade is expected to pick up gradually this year following a contraction in 2023 that was driven by the lingering effects of high energy prices and inflation, WTO economists said in a new forecast on 10 April. Notably, digitally delivered services have shown significant resilience and growth, totaling US$ 4.25 trillion in 2023, a 9% increase from the previous year and representing 13.8% of global exports. These services have now surpassed pre-pandemic levels by more than 50%.

Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added 11 entities to the Entity List .Five of the eleven entities are Russian and PRC entities were added for actions related to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Of these, four are part of a procurement network for components for UAV applications. These components are used to develop and produce Shahed-series UAVs which have been used by Iran to attack oil tankers in the Middle East and by Russia in Ukraine.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel at all U.S. ports of entry will detain work gloves manufactured by Shanghai Select Safety Products Company, Limited and its two subsidiaries.. CBP issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) against Shanghai Select Safety Products Company, Limited and its two subsidiaries Nantong and HK, based on information that reasonably indicates the use of convict labor in violation of 19 U.S.C. § 1307 in the production of that merchandise.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is taking action against Hamas, targeting Gaza- and Lebanon-based leaders of the terrorist group’s offensive cyber and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations. Concurrent with this action, the European Union is imposing sanctions targeting Hamas. 

Friday the Council of the European Union adopted a law covering EU-wide minimum rules for the prosecution of violation or circumvention of EU sanctions in member states. Certain actions will now be considered criminal offences in all member states, for example helping to bypass a travel ban, trading in sanctioned goods or performing prohibited financial activities. Inciting, aiding and abetting these offences can also be penalised.