The State Department sanctioned Raul Modesto Castro Ruz, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party and first secretary of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, according to a Sept. 26 press release. The State Department also sanctioned his children: Alejandro Castro Espin, Deborah Castro Espin, Mariela Castro Espin and Nilsa Castro Espin. Castro is being sanctioned for human rights violations, the press release said. "As General of Cuba’s Armed Forces, Castro is responsible for Cuba’s actions to prop up the former Maduro regime in Venezuela through violence, intimidation, and repression," it said.

The European Union sanctioned seven members of Venezuelan’s security and intelligence forces for human rights violations, the European Council said in a Sept. 27 press release. The EU said it now has active Venezuelan sanctions imposed on 25 people. The sanctions include travel bans and asset freezes.

A sanctioned shipping company received expedited removal from the Treasury’s sanctions list because of its cooperation, transparency and commitments to the agency, according to a Sept. 25 post by Winston & Strawn.

The European Union is making adjustments to its safeguards on steel products implemented in July 2018 in response to U.S. Section 232 tariffs, the European Commission said in a Sept. 27 press release.

U.S. exporters say they are increasingly losing market share in China to European and Japanese companies as the trade war drags on, panelists said during a discussion at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event on Sept. 25. Some U.S. companies are also losing out on Chinese license approvals as foreign competitors get to skip the line, one trade lawyer said.

In the Sept. 26 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

A top South Korean official asked a State Department official to continue to help with South Korea’s ongoing trade dispute with Japan, saying during the United Nations General Assembly that the U.S. should “continue to play a role” in the negotiations.

China’s Foreign Ministry criticized the passage of a bill in a House committee that could change Hong Kong’s special status in customs and export controls. The bill, the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act (see 1909250053), would also require the Trump administration to assess whether Hong Kong is “adequately” enforcing U.S. export control and sanctions regulations.

China criticized the U.S.’s decision to sanction Chinese companies and people for transferring oil from Iran, saying it will take “necessary measures” if the sanctions are not revoked. “We strongly urge the U.S. to immediately correct its wrongdoing,” a China Foreign Ministry spokesperson said during a Sept. 26 press conference, according to a transcript in English released by the Chinese Embassy in Washington. “China has taken and will continue to take necessary measures to safeguard the legal rights and interests of its businesses.”

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, wants to ratify NAFTA 2.0, and believes the House will vote to do so in November or December. But in a speech Sept. 26 at the American Security Project, he told Mexican diplomats in the audience that they need to add more money to their labor budget.