The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a final rule this week to officially change the heading of the Syria-Related Sanctions Regulations to the "Promoting Accountability for Assad and Regional Stabilization Sanctions Regulations." It also revises those regulations to reflect the administration's easing of certain Syria-related sanctions earlier this year (see 2507010012 and 2506300055). The changes take effect Sept. 25.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is working to issue a final rule for a set of regulations that in January placed new export controls on certain lab equipment that can be misused by "countries of concern" for military purposes (see 2501150020). The rulemaking, sent for interagency review Sept. 23, will finalize those revisions to "address the accelerating development and deployment of advanced biotechnology tools contrary to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests," BIS said.

The Trump administration’s easing of export restrictions for certain unmanned drones was an overdue decision that could allow American companies to better compete in foreign markets and boost U.S. cooperation with allies, a defense policy researcher and former Pentagon official said Wednesday. During a Center for Strategic and International Studies webinar, they said the announcement highlights the shortcomings of the multilateral Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), arguing that it and other U.S. arms control policies have failed to keep up with the pace of technology.

Alex Wong, former U.S. principal deputy national security adviser for the Trump administration, has joined South Korea-based business conglomerate Hanwha Group as its global chief strategy officer, the company announced this week. Wong previously oversaw White House policy on issues related to defense, international relations and intelligence. He will be based in Washington, D.C., in the newly created role.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Sept. 23 set aside part of the Federal Maritime Commission's rule limiting the parties against whom "demurrage and detention" fees may be assessed. Judges Sri Srinivasan, Robert Wilkins and J. Michelle Childs held that the commission arbitrarily and capriciously exempted motor carriers from being assessed these fees, given the FMC's "stated rationale" to confine fees to parties who are in a "contractual relationship with the billing party."

The U.K. this week published a new "starter guide" for its sanctions programs and laws, including information on who must comply with sanctions; sanctions lists and sanctions screening; ownership and control standards; exceptions and licensing; sanctions circumvention; carrying out due diligence; and more.

Taiwan is probing the business credentials of a Taiwanese company added to the Bureau of Industry and Security's Entity List earlier this month (see 2509120077), Taiwan's International Trade Administration said, according to an unofficial translation. The company, Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics, is a "representative office of a Hong Kong company in Taiwan," and an "investigation revealed that the representative office does not possess import and export qualifications," Taiwan said. "The Ministry of Economic Affairs will further verify whether the representative office's actual operations are consistent with its original application."

The Treasury Department officially published a rule this week delaying the effective date of new regulations that were set to make investment advisers subject to anti-money-laundering and counterterrorism financing requirements. The original final rule, which was issued in August 2024 and scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2026 (see 2408290024), will now apply starting Jan. 1, 2028. Treasury previewed the delay in July (see 2507240021).

While meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly High Level Week in New York City Sept. 22, Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., “emphasized the need for Congress to pass” her bill to end a U.S. economic sanctions law targeting Syria, a Shaheen press release said.

A bipartisan group of six senators introduced a bill Sept. 19 aimed at transferring about $300 billion in frozen Russian assets to Ukraine.