Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., reintroduced a bill March 11 to create a federal task force to coordinate sanctions enforcement and other efforts against fentanyl traffickers.
Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., reintroduced a bill on March 11 to sanction those who are complicit in or materially support attacks on international shipping by the Yemen-based Houthis.
Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., reintroduced a bill March 11 to prohibit most private-sector retirement plans from investing in companies based in “foreign adversary” countries, including China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
The U.S. shouldn't ease sanctions on Russia if Moscow accepts a proposed 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine, two members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned the Foxtrot Network, a transnational criminal group based in Sweden, along with its leader Rawa Majid. OFAC said the group has trafficked illegal drugs and "carried out attacks on Israelis and Jews in Europe," including a January 2024 attack on the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm on behalf of the Iranian government. The agency said the designations build on President Donald Trump's February memo that ordered U.S. agencies to pursue a “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign against Iran (see 2502050020).
The Bureau of Industry and Security could face significant challenges imposing and enforcing export controls against China if the Trump administration continues to slash government workers and resources, particularly in the national security sphere, a technology policy researcher said in a new report. The report said the U.S. needs to continue investing in efforts to close export control loopholes that allow China to acquire advanced artificial intelligence chips, but it also said that even “extremely aggressive” controls are unlikely to give the U.S. a large lead in the AI race.
EU government enforcement agencies should better cooperate on sanctions and export control investigations, including by regularly sharing information during periodic meetings, according to a recent report from Kleptotrace, a research project co-founded by the EU.
Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, asked the Treasury Department on March 10 to provide the legal basis for its decision to exclude U.S. citizens and companies from implementation of the Corporate Transparency Act.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week updated several general licenses related to the Yemen-based Houthis, also known as Ansarallah, the group designated by the Trump administration as a foreign terrorist organization (see 2503040008).
The U.S. added more people and entities to sanctions and export control lists in 2024 than the previous year, with a large portion targeting Russia and China, the Center for a New American Security said this week.