US Trade Representative Katherine Tai defended the Administration trade policy yesterday against criticisms that the White House is failing to open new markets by eschewing traditional comprehensive free trade agreements. Instead, the Administration’s focus on a worker-centered trade policy and investment in advanced manufacturing and infrastructure to create new jobs is a better fit for today’s world, Ms. Tai told the audience at the American University Washington College of Law.

Agriculture Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor will be leading the department’s first-ever regional agribusiness trade mission to the Netherlands. Ms. …

Microsoft has agreed to pay $3.3 million to settle potential civil liability relating to exporting services or software to comprehensively sanctioned jurisdictions and Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) in violation of OFAC's Cuba, Iran, Syria, and Ukraine-/Russia-Related sanctions programs.

Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated Genesis Market, one of the world's largest illicit marketplaces, for its part in the theft and sale of device credentials and related sensitive information.

An Estonian national has been indicted on eighteen counts related to conspiracy and other charges, including the procurement of sensitive US-made electronics for the Russian government and military. He engaged in this conduct despite being listed on the US Department of Commerce-maintained "Entity List," which designates individuals and companies barred from exporting items from the United States without a license.

China is moving ahead with plans to develop a $500 million undersea fiber-optic internet cable network, linking Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, according reporting from Reuters. This ambitious effort, spearheaded by state-owned Chinese telecom firms, is seen as a direct rival to a similar U.S.-backed project and threatens to deepen the ongoing tech war between Washington and Beijing.

The tenth EU-US Energy Council met in Brussels, attended by key representatives from the European Union and the United States. The Council serves as the primary forum for transatlantic coordination on strategic energy issues, aiming to enhance energy security, promote energy efficiency, develop technologies for net-zero emissions, and support research, innovation, and business cooperation.

International trade growth is expected to decelerate to 1.7 percent in 2023 from 2.7 percent in the last year due to multiple factors ranging from the war in Ukraine, continued high inflation, ultra-conservative monetary policies and financial market uncertainty, according to the World Trade Organization’s global trade outlook report released Wednesday.

The Treasury has  published the 2023 DeFi Illicit Finance Risk Assessment, the first illicit finance risk assessment conducted on decentralized finance (DeFi) in the world.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has released its Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Congressional Budget Justification, detailing the agency's budgetary needs and priorities for the coming year. FY 24 payroll is expected to be 23 percent higher than two years prior, while travel at $8.6 million is nearly three times that of FY 22.

 Commerce's International Trade Administration announces the U.S. Industry Program (USIP) at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference in Vienna, Austria, from September 24-27, 2023. This program aims to promote U.S. civil nuclear companies' services and technologies to an international audience, including senior energy policymakers from current and emerging markets and IAEA staff.

For the next annual offset report reflecting calendar year 2022 data, U.S. firms must submit the required information on offsets agreements and transactions from calendar year 2022 to BIS by June 15, 2023.

A federal court has ordered the forfeiture of approximately $826,000 in funds connected to an attempt to smuggle a dual-use export-controlled item to Russia. The high-precision jig grinder, manufactured in Connecticut, was intercepted in Riga, Latvia, before it could be shipped to Russia. The machine is subject to export restrictions due to its potential applications in nuclear proliferation and defense programs.

As tensions between the United States and China escalate, the AUKUS alliance – consisting of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States – has prompted research security concerns and changes to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). These changes are designed to facilitate the AUKUS plan, announced in 2021, which aims to provide Australia with the technology and capability to deploy nuclear-powered submarines.

U.S. agro-businesses, participating in a trade tour in Cuba, expressed frustration over the slow progress in boosting commerce with Cuban farmers and called on the Biden administration to ease restrictions, allowing them to invest in the island's private agriculture sector.

rade ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) nations convened in a virtual meeting hosted by Japan, this year's G7 president, to discuss concerns about global economic issues, including "economic coercion" and non-market trade practices. These issues are believed to be aimed at China, whose trade policies have increasingly come under scrutiny.

China and the United States clashed at the meeting of the Council for Trade in Goods (CTG) on April 3-4 over trade restrictive measures imposed on the basis of the national security exception. The conflict arose as China raised new specific trade concerns and requested clarification about actions taken by the United States, Japan, and the Netherlands to impose export restrictions on electronic chipmaking equipment.

World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is pushing for an increase in the budget to establish a Transformation Office that aims to develop "a vision and strategy for the Secretariat," according to insider sources. The proposed office appears to be modeled after a similar division at the World Bank, where Okonjo-Iweala worked for 25 years.

Several key pieces of legislation have been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate in recent weeks, with potential practical implications for businesses involved in international trade, particularly with China.

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) opened the application period for the 2023-2024 Advisory Committee, Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee, Council on Climate, Council on China Competition, Council on Small Business and Council on Advancing Women in Business. The application period begins April 3 and will remain open through April 28.