Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Ind., urged the Trump administration May 5 to consider national security when reviewing foreign takeovers of U.S. steel companies.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, announced May 12 that he will try to block U.S. arms sales to countries he believes are “paying off” President Donald Trump.
President Donald Trump touted his plan to get foreign health purchasers to pay more for pharmaceuticals, and U.S. consumers to pay less, as he signed an executive order seeking to equalize those prices.
The U.S. and China agreed to temporarily drop certain tariffs, during negotiations in Switzerland May 10-11, and plan to continue talks through a new trade dialogue mechanism, both countries said.
The U.K. extended its sanctions license permitting the winding down of transactions with Amsterdam Trade Bank N.V., which is a majority-owned subsidiary of sanctioned Russian bank Alfa-Bank. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation extended the license until May 12, 2030. OFSI also amended the license to say that any party, including the "Bankruptcy Trustees and any other insolvency practitioner," can make, receive or process any payments or "exercise all rights" in connection with any insolvency proceeding related to ATB or "the fulfilment of the Bankruptcy Trustees' statutory functions."
The U.S. this week sanctioned three Iranian nationals and one entity for their ties to Iran’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, which works on nuclear weapons projects. The designations target Sayyed Mohammad Reza Seddighi Saber, Ahmad Haghighat Talab and Mohammad Reza Mehdipur along with the entity Fuya Pars Prospective Technologists.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls this month updated its list of commodity jurisdiction determinations for items and services controlled under the U.S. Munitions List. The new determinations cover certain amplifiers, drones, parts related to fuel tanks, freight advisory services, transceivers, helicopter training, engines and more. DDTC also said some of the items should be classified by the Bureau of Industry and Security under the Export Administration Regulations as EAR99 or other specific Export Control Classification Numbers.
Nature’s Sunshine Products, a dietary supplement manufacturer headquartered in Utah, may have violated U.S. sanctions and export controls, it disclosed this month.
The Bureau of Industry and Security officially announced May 13 that it plans to rescind the Biden administration’s AI diffusion export control rule and issue a “replacement rule in the future.” BIS enforcement officials won't be enforcing the Biden-era rule, the agency said, which was scheduled to take effect May 15. The agency said it plans to publish a formal rescission notice in the Federal Register.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. is considering lifting sanctions against Syria to help give the Syrian people a “fresh start” following last year’s fall of the Bashar Assad regime.