President Donald Trump has nominated John Hurley to be undersecretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial crimes and Thomas DiNanno to be undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, the White House told the Senate Feb. 11.
President Donald Trump has nominated congressional staffer Landon Heid to be assistant secretary of commerce for export administration at the Bureau of Industry and Security, the White House told the Senate Feb. 11.
A new European Parliament briefing published this week analyzes the state of EU sanctions against Russia, including developments last year and possible next steps that the bloc could take to increase pressure against Moscow.
The U.K. on Feb. 12 published a general license permitting humanitarian activity in Syria. The license allows for the U.N., humanitarian organizations with observer status with the U.N. General Assembly, bilaterally or multilaterally funded non-governmental organizations taking part in the UN Humanitarian Response Plans and international organizations conducting relief activities in Syria to engage in activities needed to "provide humanitarian assistance, other activities that support basic human needs and facilitate the timely provision of those activities in Syria." Any parties carrying out those activities must "provide written notice to HM Treasury within 30 days of commencing the activity."
Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., introduced a bill Feb. 7 that would authorize the president to sanction Middle Eastern leaders, except those in Israel, who decline to offer humanitarian entry to Palestinians from Gaza. The Make Gaza Great Again Act is intended to encourage cooperation with President Donald Trump’s proposal to resettle Gaza’s population outside the war-torn territory. The legislation was referred to the House Foreign Affairs and Judiciary committees.
Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., reintroduced a bill Feb. 7 that would control exports of certain “national interest technology or intellectual property” to China.
The U.S. needs to expand its export controls on semiconductor manufacturing equipment to focus on "foundational" chips and not just advanced ones, policy analyst Dmitri Alperovitch said.
President Donald Trump's recent executive order halting prosecutions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act likely won't change the behavior of many companies, given the risk of prosecution globally or in the U.S. after Trump leaves office, lawyers said.
The European Commission this week issued new guidance with an updated list of territories that are “temporarily occupied” by Russia and subject to certain sanctions and trade restrictions. The list, published by Ukrainian authorities, is meant to help traders and other EU “operators” determine which areas in the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts are subject to restrictions because they’re under control by Russia instead of by Ukraine. “Considering the fluid situation, a dynamic assessment of this control could be necessary,” the commission said. “In case of doubt, EU operators can reach out to their national competent authority.”
The House of Representatives voted 408-0 late Feb. 10 to pass a bill that would give companies more time to comply with the Corporate Transparency Act, which requires them to submit information on who owns and controls them to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.