Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., announced June 5 that she has introduced a bill that would bar shipments of offensive weapons to Israel until Israel commits in writing to using the arms in accordance with U.S. and international law. Congress would have to pass a joint resolution approving those specific uses. Ramirez said the Block the Bombs Act is needed to reduce civilian casualties in the Gaza War. The bill, which has 21 co-sponsors, was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., reintroduced a bill June 6 that would give the U.K. the same licensing exemption for unclassified defense exports that Canada currently enjoys under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The Special Relationship Military Improvement Act, which Green previously introduced in the last Congress, was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Reps. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., and Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., introduced a bill May 23 that would bar State and Defense department officials involved in military sales from lobbying for three years after leaving their government jobs. The lawmakers said the No Revolving Door in Foreign Military Sales Act is intended to prevent conflicts of interest when former civil servants go to work for the defense industry or foreign actors. The legislation was referred to the House Judiciary Committee.

Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic discussed export controls and trade remedies during a meeting in Paris last week, according to an unofficial translation of a Chinese readout of the talks. China said the two sides continued to discuss the EU's countervailing duties on electric vehicle imports from China (see 2408200020) and made some progress toward an agreement on price commitments.

The U.S. this week sanctioned Los Chapitos, part of the Mexico-based Sinaloa Cartel, which controls laboratories that insert fentanyl in counterfeit pills that are later trafficked to the U.S. The Office of Foreign Assets Control also sanctioned two fugitive leaders of Los Chapitos and a regional network of Los Chapitos associates and businesses based in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico. OFAC said they’re involved in drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, and money laundering.

Export controls aren't "perfect," but the U.S. needs to continue using them to stay ahead of China in advanced technology sectors, Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., said last week.

Trade enforcement under President Donald Trump could "look a little different" than how the federal government has previously acted because of how the DOJ seems now to want to focus on holding individuals accountable, as opposed to corporations, according to a trade lawyer speaking during a June 6 webinar hosted by the Massachusetts Export Center.

The U.S. is willing to lift export controls over certain semiconductors in exchange for China approving exports of rare earths and other critical minerals, a senior Trump administration official said June 9.

European countries still have "very different" levels of research security practices in place to protect against threats from China and other adversarial nations, University of Manchester researchers said in a new report. While some countries have "mature research security policies and practices," others are at an earlier stage, while "no country can be said to have institutionalised research security practices across its whole research system."

EU member states, along with the bloc's Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, met in Lithuania last week to discuss ways to strengthen export enforcement of dual-use goods sent to Russia, Lithuania's customs office said. The countries said they want to better "identify organized criminal groups and prevent illegal profit-making," and they also discussed ways to more "promptly" share information about how bad actors are evading sanctions, the notice said, according to an unofficial translation. They specifically examined sanctions evasion methods in the Baltic Sea region. The meeting featured customs and law enforcement representatives from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.