By an overwhelming vote of 91 to 6 the Senate approved an amendment to the defense reauthorization bill that for the first time would impose notification requirements on US cutting edge technology outbound investments to China and other “countries of concern.” The notification requirement would apply to artificial intelligence, quantum industries, advanced semiconductors and micro-electronics, hypersonics, satellite-based communications and networked laser scanning systems with dual-use applications.

The Administration is not operating on a timetable for releasing highly-anticipated new export control rules on cutting-edge technology, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Wednesday. The focus instead is on getting the final rules right, so that US national security is protected but companies are not prevented from selling readily-available technology, she said at a program sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute.

OFAC has released the first episode of its “Introduction to OFAC” web series, a series of short videos created to provide viewers with a high-level introduction on the fundamentals of OFAC and sanctions implementation. The first episode introduces viewers to OFAC and its place within the U.S. government, as well as its history, mission, and relationship with the public. 

A bipartisian group of lawmakers Tuesday introduced the Inter-American Development Bank Transparency Act. which would require the Treasury Department to inform Congress of PRC influence at the …

Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., requested in a new letter that Lear Co., the nation’s largest car seat manufacturer, explain how it oversees leather supply chains in Brazil to prevent the illegal importation of goods made with forced labor or deforestation. The letter comes as part of Wyden’s ongoing inquiry into forced labor in auto supply chains. Wyden has written to major automakers and their tier 1 suppliers regarding evidence of parts made with forced labor in Xinjiang, China, as part of his investigation into the effectiveness of customs enforcement regarding forced labor. In June, he held a Finance Committee hearing investigating how cattle supply chains contribute to Amazon deforestation. 

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) ihas been in place for 23 years, enacted in dureing the George W Bush Administration and since renewed to 2025.  Monday, the USTR held the …

Developing countries such as India, South Africa, Türkiye, Argentina and Indonesia among others are pushing back against attempts by a group of countries, including the European Union and Australia, and supported by the United States, insisting that electronic transmissions “covers anything transmitted by telecommunications” and also include “content” through the internet under the World Trade Organization’s e-commerce moratorium, our correspondent writes.

Members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party continue their effort to challenge diplomats, bureaucrats and captains of industry a quest to bring trade security policy in line with the 24 hour news cycle.   Committee Chair Mike Gallagher’s key take away from his panel’s hearing July 20th  on the Administration’s China policy is that the White House seems unclear on what it means by economic “derisking” from China. “If the core tenet of the Biden strategy toward China is derisking, we have to understand what that means. It’s a little muddy,” he said.

The top US and European Union trade officials had a “direct and candid” discussion yesterday on negotiations to create an agreement governing steel and aluminum trade. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis met in Brussels as the two sides seek to reach agreement on the proposed Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminum by October.

Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) have introduced bipartisan legislation to increase transparency and oversight of foreign ownership in the US agricultural industry. The Farmland Security Act of 2023 builds on the senators’ bipartisan Farmland Security Act of 2022 by ensuring that all foreign investors, including “shell companies,” who buy US agriculture land report their holding.

World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala apparently received a frosty response from several members, including the United States, to her “modest budget increase of CHF 14.56 million (around $ 15 million) for 2024,” and an additional CHF 1.94 million for 2025, according to our correspondent.

Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) President and Chair Reta Jo Lewis traveled to Luanda, Angola, where she met with government leaders, private sector companies and external stakeholders to highlight EXIM's activity in the region.   She also spoke at the Luanda International Trade Fair. In June, Exim approved a direct loan for more than $900 million to the Ministry of Energy and Water of the Republic of Angola to support the construction of two photovoltaic solar energy power plants.

In a sternly worded letter to CEO Jim Farley of the Ford Motor Company, two of the House’s leading China Hawks lashed into the company’s plans to license Chinese technology for electric vehicle battery production, calling for access to Ford’s business records and correspondence related to the deal.

Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control designated dozens of entities as Washington continues to apply economic pressure on Moscow for it's invation of Ukraine. The July 20 actions address munitions, metals & mining, finance, energy and aerospace technology interests.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), declared the enforcement of financial penalties against two defense companies,  resolving alleged infractions of the antiboycott regulations of the …

The House approved several amendments related to China and US supply chains in its consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act (HR 2670). The House voted on a package that includes …

The Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) announced their approval of a 400 million dollar credit guarantee for the trading book of a Swiss commodity trader. Financial Institution Buyer Credit (FIBC) policies backstop credit lines for Geneva – based Trafigura to broker natural gas purchases from the US “primarily to European Buyers,” according to the EXIM announcement.

Representative Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Chairman of the Select Committee on the CCP, and Representative Mike Thompson (D-CA) today unveiled a key piece of legislation that aims to broaden the …

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the U.S. National Intelligence Director (ODNI) have declared the fulfillment of their commitments under President Joe Biden's Executive Order (EO) 14086 regarding the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. Since 2020, when the European Court of Justice nullified the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield agreement due to concerns about U.S. government surveillance activities, the U.S. and the EU have been on a quest to establish a new data flow mechanism. This decision unsettled transatlantic data transfers and necessitated a resolution that would ensure enhanced privacy and data protection for EU data subjects. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a press statement that the DOJ's designation of EU member states, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, as "qualifying states." These designations allow citizens of these nations to seek redress through the proposed Data Protection Review Court, offering enhanced U.S. privacy protections in the process.

As tensions simmer over issues ranging from Mexico's biotech corn and energy policies to Canadian dairy access, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai joined North American trade partners for a summit in Cancun this week. However, the thorny issues were not directly addressed, according to readouts from the meetings.