Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, plans to reintroduce a bill aimed at ensuring that courts cannot vacate previously authorized permits for liquefied natural gas export projects, a Senate aide said March 24.
The Senate voted 60-31 late March 24 to confirm former U.S. ambassador to Mexico Christopher Landau as deputy secretary of state. Fifty Republicans, nine Democrats and one independent backed his nomination, while 31 Democrats were opposed. Nine senators didn’t vote. A State Department website indicates Landau was sworn in for his new role March 25. Landau testified at a hearing on his nomination in early March that the Trump administration plans to build international support for using sanctions to counter Iran’s nuclear weapons program (see 2503040038).
The Treasury and State departments are reviewing a recently introduced bill to restrict outbound investment in China, a key lawmaker said March 25.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned three Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security officials who OFAC said were involved in the abduction, detention and "probable death" of former FBI agent Robert Levinson. OFAC said Iranian officials Reza Amiri Moghadam, Gholamhossein Mohammadnia and Taqi Daneshvar "all played a role in Mr. Levinson’s abduction, probable death, and Iran’s efforts to cover up or obfuscate their responsibility." Levinson disappeared in Iran in 2007 while on a CIA mission.
The U.K. this year plans to update its export controls to align them with changes recently made by the multilateral Wassenaar Arrangement, Nuclear Suppliers Group and Australia Group. The updates include changes to the technical parameters for certain advanced artificial intelligence chip uses; revisions to the definitions for “spacecraft,” “satellite,” “space probe” and “space vehicle”; and more. The U.K. said it plans to make the changes this spring.
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The State and Treasury departments should form a task force to “robustly investigate and sanction” illicit gold trafficking networks, a watchdog group representative told a House panel March 25.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is adding 82 entities, mostly in mainland China, to the Entity List, targeting technology companies, chip firms, electronics businesses and others for their ties to Chinese military end-users. The additions, the first since President Donald Trump took office in January, also target entities in Taiwan, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa and Iran for a range of reasons that BIS said are “contrary to the national security and foreign policy” of the U.S.
The World Trade Organization's Dispute Settlement Body on March 24 heard a request from China to establish a panel in its dispute against the EU's countervailing duties on new battery electric vehicles from China. The DSB "took note" of statements made by China and the EU and said it would "revert to this matter should a requesting member wish to do so."
The European Commission on March 24 began monitoring import volumes of ethylene and ammonia products, which are primarily used for fertilizer production and "industrial applications," in order to levy duties on the products should imports surge in the EU. The commission said it began the surveillance because of "evidence of a significant and potentially injurious increase in the EU market share of imports of the chemicals," which purportedly is the result of overcapacity in China and trade defense measures from a "growing number of countries." Specifically, the surveillance covers "imports of copolymers of ethylene and alpha olefin, urea containing more than 45% (by weight) of nitrogen and ammonium sulphate," and will be in place for three years.