Canadian officials applauded Monday's  decision by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Chapter 19 panel on U.S. countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber: “Canada welcomes the panel’s decision that U.S. duties on Canadian softwood lumber are inconsistent with U.S. law. “The Canadian softwood lumber industry is a critical and reliable partner to the United States, creating jobs and making valuable contributions to our deeply integrated North American supply chains," said foreign minister Mary Ng in a statement.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-ID) sent a letter to President Biden urging him to reject a proposal to waive U.S. sanctions imposed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in order to allow a French-owned company, Électricité de France (EDF), to engage in civil nuclear projects with Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy company.

The Financial Times reports the Biden administration has revoked export licences that allow Intel and Qualcomm to supply Huawei with semiconductors as Washington increases the pressure on the Chinese telecoms equipment company.

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote to the Department of Defense (DoD), following a "deeply troubling" Wall Street Journal investigation revealing that Starlink, a satellite-internet service and subsidiary of DoD contractor SpaceX, is being used by Russia and other sanctioned U.S. adversaries, and concerns that the company has not taken appropriate action to stop this illicit activity.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that Neil Beck will serve as Acting Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for World Trade Organization (WTO) and Multilateral Affairs. Mr. Beck previously served as Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative in the same office.

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08), joined by Trade Subcommittee Chairman Adrian Smith (NE-03), demanded the Biden Administration conclude its review of President Trump’s …

FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki delivered the keynote at the SIFMA/AML conference in New York this week, highlighting the contribution of her team's efforts, as well as coming milestones.

Commissioners from the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) penned a letter to Secretarty of State Anthony Blinken asking the State Department to utilize existing rewards programs to seek information that will “deter and disrupt the market for illegally procured organs…and hold accountable those responsible for the gruesome practice” of forced organ harvesting in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

OFAC has deployed its new Sanctions List Service (SLS).  SLS is now the primary application OFAC will use to deliver sanctions list files and data to the public. OFAC's Sanctions List …

The April 19 IFR loosening license requirements for dual-use trade is corrected to include only portions of those firearms ECCNs previously controlled for national security column 1 (NS1) or regional stability column 1 (RS1) reasons for control for the destinations of Australia and the United Kingdom will continue to require a license. The revised proposed rule conforms with the existing treatment of Canada.

The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is issuing a white paper providing general findings from visiting various universities and research centers that are engaged in activities of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations from 2020 to early 2024.  The paper provides general compliance commendations, including “best practices” and recommendations that the Office of Defense Trade Controls Compliance provided to the universities following each visit.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and IRS released final rules on the clean vehicle provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act. The rules update  taxpayer and vehicle eligibility for the credit for new clean vehicles and the previously-owned clean vehicle credit. The rules also address the critical minerals and battery components requirements and Foreign Entity of Concern (or “excluded entity”) restriction that were added to the clean vehicle credit by the IRA.

Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim delivered remarks at the Department of Justice on April 29, 2024, marking the one-year anniversary of the launch of the Timber Interdiction Membership Board and Enforcement Resources Working Group.

On April 17, 2024, the Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA)’s Final Rule takes effect. EAPA establishes procedures for an “ interested party” to submit an allegation that an importer is evading its payment of antidumping and countervailing (AD/CVD) duties.  

In testimony before the U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control last week, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson Before the U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control directed lawmakers attention to Chinese money laundering organizations (CMLOs). CMLOs offer several advantages for illicit actors. These money launderers are insular, decentralized, and rely on interpersonal relationships among the Chinese diaspora to conduct business, making them difficult for law enforcement to penetrate.

Congressional lawmakers are taking another stab at trying to put together and pass the 2024 Farm Bill after running into difficulties last year. Both Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich) and House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Penn) unveiled their Farm Bill proposals last week. While the Senate version appeals to the customary bipartisan compromise, the House Committee's ranking Democrat complains his GOP colleagues " turned what could have been a genuinely bipartisan bill into a messaging exercise to appease their right flank that has no chance of becoming law.”

Bipartisan legislation (HR 8187) introduced last week would improve transparency in the current battery supply chain by creating an Energy Department program to support the development, implementation and adoption of digital identification systems.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced yesterday that he has named Malikha Daniels as Senior Policy Advisor for the Foreign Agricultural Service.

The US Export-Import Bank signed two new Memoranda of Understanding yesterday, one with Nigeria and the other with Mastercard. The Nigerian MOU is "to encourage collaboration and identify projects that enhance economic prosperity between Nigeria and the United States,"according to EXIM.  The Mastercard MoU is "to encourage collaboration opportunities in support of small businesses."

Thursday, The Commerce Department announced its preliminarily determination that aluminum extrusion producers and exporters in in fourteen countries are selling their product in the US at less than fair value. In 2022, the U.S. imported 57 million tons of aluminum extrusions worth about US$3.19 billion from 15 countries, according to U.S. Department of Commerce statistics. The United States imported 110,000 tons worth US$660 million from Mexico, the largest exporter of aluminum extrusions to the United States.