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. 

Dronemaker General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems, have been sanctioned by the Chinese government for their sales to the government of Taiwan.    Last September China sanctioned Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin  on the same grounds. Missing from either announcement was Boeing, Taipei’s supplier of Harpoon anti-ship missiles.

Airline industry and labor groups are calling for restrictions on Chinese Airline flights to the US, citing unfair competition. The groups have asked for a "pause" to additional passenger flights between the United States and China "until U.S. workers and businesses are guaranteed equality of access in the marketplace, free from the existing harmful anti-competitive policies of the Chinese government. "

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) released its final questionnaire to assess greenhouse gas emissions intensity of aluminum production in the United States at the company and facility level.

The European Council adopted Friday a decision to conclude the agreement establishing an association between the European Union and its member states, on the one hand, and Central America on the other.  This is the final step of the ratification process of the agreement, through which the EU and Central America commit to a close, long-term relationship in all main policy areas. It will allow the full implementation of the agreement on the first day of the month following the notification by the EU to the Central American counterparts. 

Wednesday Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), introduced bipartisan legislation to bolster the Export Enforcement Coordination Center—an interagency hub for information sharing and coordination among the key agencies responsible for export control enforcement. At a hearing Thursday, officials from Commerce, Justice and Homeland Security were unanimous in their call for resources from Congress.

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai addressed the annual meeting of the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), the umbrella group representing textiles "from fibers to finished products, machinery manufacturers to power suppliers."  Tai highlighted workstreams on the CAFTA-DR Textiles and Apparel Supply Chain Directory and a joint project with Customs and Border Patrol as examples of industry specific assistance.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Department of Commerce is announcing its recruitment of candidates to serve on one of its six Technical Advisory Committees (“TACs”). TAC …

The Treasury Department, as Chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to "enhance certain CFIUS procedures and sharpen its penalty and enforcement authorities." The proposed rule reflects CFIUS’s first substantive update to the mitigation and enforcement provisions of the CFIUS regulations since the enactment and implementation of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018, which amended CFIUS’s governing statute (section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950).

The EXIM Board of Directors of the United States (EXIM) last week approved a $156.6 million loan to Ukrainian Railways to support the potential acquisition of 40 Wabtec diesel locomotives.   This transaction is the first project fully financed by a United States government agency in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began in 2022.

The United States announced two resolutions of labor disputes initiated under the USMCA facility-specific Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) in Mexico last year.   The Turkish owners of the Teklas Automotive hose assembly plant and the Mexican owners of the Draxton automotive casting operations, both in central Mexico,   conducted remediation satisfactory to US officials. USTR has directed the Secretary of the Treasury to resume liquidation of unliquidated entries of goods from the facilities.

Two Russian nationals pleaded guilty last week to conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) in connection with a scheme to acquire and unlawfully export controlled aviation technology to Russian end users. Beginning in or about May 2022 through May 2023, the defendants conspired to obtain orders for various aircraft parts and components from Russian buyers – primarily commercial airline companies – and then fulfill those requests by acquiring the parts from the United States suppliers.