Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., introduced a bill July 16 that would update the conditions for lifting sanctions in the Caeser Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019.
House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., announced July 17 that he has filed a discharge petition to force House floor consideration of his bill to increase sanctions and export controls on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., asked the Commerce Department July 18 to explain how it plans to implement the Trump administration’s recent decision to allow U.S. semiconductor firm Nvidia to sell its previously restricted advanced H20 chips to China (see 2507150013).
The U.K. issued a new Russian sanctions general license allowing non-designated parties who have made investments through sanctioned brokers to "transfer their funds to a non-designated broker." The license applies when the only sanctioned party involved is the broker. Under the license, an "Asset Holding Institution" can take steps to transfer any funds held by a central securities depository that the asset-holding institution "reasonably considers" are "investment assets of that" non-sanctioned account holder and relate to investment made by the non-sanctioned account holder with the sanctioned broker before it became sanctioned.
Seth Bailey, the State Department’s director for Korean and Mongolian Affairs, briefed U.N. member states last week on the first report of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, the group formed last year by the U.S. and 10 of its close allies to report on North Korea-related sanctions evasion (see 2502210005 and 2506050046). Bailey outlined “evidence” of North Korean arms and materiel transfers to Russia, Russian transfers of military technology to North Korea, and Russian training of North Korean troops in Russia, the State Department said. Bailey added that the monitoring team plans to continue publishing reports on North Korea’s “sanctions violations across a range of topics.”
The U.K. on July 18 added to its Russia and cyber sanctions regimes, listing three people and one entity under the Russia list and 18 individuals and one entity under the cyber list.
The Council of the European Union on July 18 adopted a fourth sanctions package against Sudan in response to the Sudanese civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. The designations target Alkhaleej Bank, Red Rock Mining Company, SAF military commander Abu Aqla Mohamed Kaikal and RSF military field commander Hussein Barsham. The council said Alkhaleej Bank is "largely owned by companies linked to family members of RMS Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo" and is central to financing RSF operations. The Red Rock Mining Company is involved in facilitating production of weapons and vehicles for the SAF, the council said.
More than six months into President Donald Trump’s second term, the new administration’s plan for export controls on both semiconductors and chip manufacturing equipment remains unclear, industry officials and a congressional adviser said last week. They all said they hope any new controls are calibrated with allies.
The White House has nominated Julie Callahan, the assistant U.S. trade representative for agricultural affairs and commodity policy, to be chief agricultural negotiator for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Callahan previously held positions at the FDA and USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service.
The Semiconductor Industry Association has hired Jaclyn Kellon, a former State Department official, to join its global policy team as a director. Kellon will work on supply chain security and cybersecurity matters with a focus on Southeast Asia and India, SIA said. She previously served as a foreign affairs officer in the State Department's Office of Critical Technology Protection, where she served as a technical expert on semiconductor technology policy topics.