German and Japanese automakers are realigning their strategies in response to new U.S. import tariffs on vehicles. German automakers report €500 million in additional costs in April alone, while Japanese automakers are maintaining unit volumes by cutting prices over 20 percent.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Friday sanctioned one individual, eight entities, and identified a vessel as blocked property for their roles in facilitating sensitive equipment shipments to Iran’s defense industry, including entities affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The Treasury also imposed further sanctions on the Islamic Republic's Yemeni allies, Ansarallah, known as the Houthis.

In remarks before the 62nd plenary of the Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group (BSAAG), Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender outlined the Trump Administration’s guiding principles for overhauling the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and modernizing anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations.

The U.S. Senate passed the GENIUS Act on June 17 by a vote of 68–30, establishing the first federal regulatory framework for stablecoins—digital tokens pegged to the value of the U.S. dollar.  Companion legislation in the House of Representative, the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy Act of 2025  (STABLE Act) is more accomodating to Foreign issuers (for example Tether) and permits issuers to remain under state licensing indefinitely, regardless of size.  The House is expected to take up and pass the Senate Act later in the Summer.

A man arrested in connection with a scheme to illegally export U.S.-origin radio communications technology to Russian end users without a license pleased guilty in US District Court in Washington June 17.

The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has published a Federal Register notice reaffirming existing rules requiring individuals and certain entities to file Form 105—the Report of International Transportation of Currency or Monetary Instruments (CMIR)—for physical transfers exceeding $10,000 entering or leaving the United States.

The Commerce Department has issued a notice revising tariff provisions under Proclamation 10896 to include additional derivative steel products such as Household Appliances and Wire Racks.

The Justice Department announced today the arrests of two men on charges of conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions, smuggling, and international money laundering. The arrests stem from a scheme to supply restricted industrial goods to Complejo Siderúrgico de Guayana S.A. (COMSIGUA), a sanctioned Venezuelan state-owned steel manufacturer.

The Justice Department announced it has declined to prosecute White Deer Management LLC, a private equity firm, after the firm voluntarily self-disclosed criminal violations of U.S. sanctions and export control laws committed by an acquired company, Unicat Catalyst Technologies LLC (Unicat).

The trilateral Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE Pact) with the US, Canada and Finland concluded a two-day summit in Ottawa focussed on four areas: information exchange, workforce development, allied engagement, and joint research. 

The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued new sanctions last week targeting five “sham” charities and associated individuals across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East for alleged support to Palestinian terrorist organizations, a move one former official said should remind donors to stay vigilant.

President Donald J. Trump on Friday issued an Executive Order reversing the Biden administration’s prior prohibition of Nippon Steel Corporation’s proposed acquisition of United States Steel Corporation. The order clears the way for the $14.9 billion deal to proceed, contingent upon the execution and enforcement of a binding national security agreement.

United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced that the United States has formally requested that Mexico review alleged violations of labor rights at Tubos de Acero de Mexico, S.A. (TAMSA), a steel pipe manufacturer in Veracruz.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has launched its biennial review of country eligibility under the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) and is soliciting public comments to inform its report to Congress.

Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) has opened the application process for automobile manufacturers to request tariff relief under the Import Adjustment Offset Program established by Presidential Proclamation 10925. The program aims to subsidize U.S. automobile assembly operations and reduce reliance on imported parts that the administration has deemed a national security risk.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent repeatedly denied that tariffs are taxes in an appearance before the Senate Finance Committee Thursday, saying there is no “empirical evidence” that prices are rising because of President Trump’s tariffs.

Following high-level U.S.–China trade talks in London, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced that the United States will reverse recently imposed export controls on ethane shipments to China. The decision ends a short-lived but disruptive policy that, according to observers, revealed deep flaws in U.S. economic statecraft.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed a $215,988,868 civil penalty on GVA Capital Ltd., a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, for egregious violations of U.S. sanctions targeting Russia and Ukraine, and for failing to comply with a federal subpoena.

Counsel representing Chinese aluminum foil companies cited Tina Turner during oral arguments at the U.S. Court of International Trade on Thursday, as attorneys faced off over the U.S. Department of Commerce’s approach to surrogate value data selection post-Loper Bright.

Testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Jeffrey Kessler faced pointed questions over the Bureau of …