Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, without naming Trump, criticized his economic approach, saying a broad-based tariff would be like a sales tax.

The Treasury Department is seeking public comments on an information collection involving the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s Rough Diamonds Control Regulations, which outline restrictions on certain diamond imports. Under the regulations, Treasury said the person listed as the ultimate consignee on the entry summary or its electronic equivalent must report that person’s receipt of a shipment of rough diamonds “to the relevant foreign exporting authority within 15 calendar days of the date that the shipment arrived at the U.S. port of entry.” Comments on the information collection are due Dec. 16.

The White House is considering whether to prompt the treasury secretary to prohibit imports of certain products from China that are derived from pangolins, an endangered species popularly known as scaly anteaters.

The Internal Revenue Service said it is considering the addition of four chemicals to its list of taxable substances subject to the Superfund tax on imports. The agency seeks comments by Nov. 4 on petitions to add propylene glycol phenyl ether imported under tariff subheading 2909.49.1500 at a rate of $13.16/ton; propylene glycol n-propyl ether under subheading 2909.49.6000 at a rate of $10.43/ton; propylene glycol methyl ether under 2909.49.6000 at $10.58/ton; and propylene glycol methyl ether acetate under 2915.39.9000 at $8.85/ton.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued two new general licenses Aug. 23 that authorize imports of Russian diamonds and diamond jewelry that were located outside the country when a current ban on imports of such goods took effect.

Polyoxymethylene, a thermoplastic, will be on the list of imported chemicals and substances subject to superfund excise taxes, according to a determination from the Internal Revenue Service published May 31 in the Federal Register.

The Treasury Department made a range of updates to its Cuba sanctions regulations this week, including one change that will allow U.S. banks to open accounts for certain Cuban nationals and authorize payments to those Cuban nationals for imports to the U.S. of certain goods and services.

Electric vehicle manufacturers in North America will get an extended phase-in on North American content rules for battery materials that are not yet practical to trace, as well as graphite and some critical minerals which, according to the Inflation Reduction Act, were supposed to preclude tax credits for car buyers next year.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, during a visit to China to meet with U.S. businesses that produce there and with Vice Premier He Lifeng, said that China and the U.S. disagree on Chinese policy to grow its economy through exports.

The Treasury Department posted new FAQs to its website on recently announced, additional bans on imports of diamonds from Russia (see 2402080081). One FAQ details a ban on imports of diamond jewelry and unsorted diamonds that originate or were exported from Russia that will take effect March 1. Another FAQ includes information on bans of non-industrial diamonds mined or produced in Russia that have been substantially transformed in other countries. That ban takes effect March 1 for diamonds with a weight of one carat or more, and Sept. 1 for smaller diamonds of 0.5 carat or more. A third FAQ details the actions Treasury has taken since 2022 to restrict imports of diamonds from Russia.