The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 26-23 June 25 to approve a bill that would eliminate a requirement that the Energy Department authorize liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, leaving the independent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as the sole authority for the approval process (see 2503070048). The Unlocking Our Domestic LNG Potential Act now heads to the full House.
President Donald Trump’s comment June 24 that China can now buy Iranian oil despite U.S. sanctions (see 2506240049) drew mixed reactions on Capitol Hill.
Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., introduced a bill June 24 that would direct the executive branch to determine whether it should designate the Polisario Front as a foreign terrorist organization and sanction the Algeria-based paramilitary group.
Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., reintroduced a bill June 25 that would impose property-blocking sanctions on foreign entities and individuals who undermine the 1995 peace agreement that ended the Bosnian War.
The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network soon will issue a rule designating three Mexican financial institutions as primary money laundering concerns, which will block U.S. banks, securities brokers and other money services businesses from transmitting certain funds involving those entities.
The U.S. and EU last week organized an export control workshop in Hanoi, Vietnam, to help Vietnam implement trade controls over sensitive items, a State Department spokesperson told Export Compliance Daily. The meetings featured officials from the State Department's Export Control and Related Border Security Program and the EU's Partner-to-Partner Export Control Program, initiatives aimed at helping other nations establish effective controls over weapons and critical technologies. The workshop, held June 18-20, specifically looked to support Vietnam's "licensing of dual-use items," a State Department spokesperson said. Officials from South Korea also attended.
The State Department this week announced new export restrictions against Sudan after determining earlier this year that the Sudanese government used chemical weapons in 2024 and isn't in compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention (see 2505230007). The agency’s notice, effective June 27, establishes new prohibitions but also waives some of the new export restrictions for Sudan under certain scenarios. The measures will be in place for at least one year “and until further notice.”
The U.S. should quickly move forward with new secondary sanctions against supporters of Russia, government leaders and think tank officials said this week, and they urged the EU to do more to hold Beijing accountable for helping Russia evade sanctions.
The European Commission's newly proposed EU Space Act includes language intended to help commercial space exporters find new customers outside the bloc, the commission said this week. The law is mainly aimed at harmonizing space-related regulations across the EU, including through new safety and sustainability rules, but it could also make commercial space firms grow "more competitive in Europe and its export markets."
The Singapore Exchange has recently asked entities listed on the exchange about their exposure to sanctions and export control risks, stressing that "inadequate compliance could lead to trading suspensions," Hogan Lovells said in a client alert this month.