House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., and Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., co-chair of the House Haiti Caucus, urged the Trump administration April 30 to reconsider its decision to designate Haitian gangs as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs), saying the move could impede the delivery of humanitarian aid to the impoverished country.
The Chinese government has reportedly added U.S. ethane imports to a growing list of unannounced exemptions to its universal 125% tariff rate on U.S. products.
The Council of the EU on April 28 extended the sanctions on Moldova for one year, pushing them to an April 29, 2026, expiration date. The restrictions currently apply to 16 people and two entities and were imposed on those seeking to destabilize, undermine or threaten the "sovereignty and independence of" Moldova.
The State Department this week sanctioned multiple entities and ships moving Iranian petroleum products and petrochemical products, including four sellers and one buyer of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Iranian energy.
President Donald Trump has nominated David Peters to be assistant secretary of commerce for export enforcement at the Bureau of Industry and Security, the White House told Congress April 29.
The U.S. this week said it won’t be prosecuting a NASA contractor for export control violations because the organization quickly self-reported the breaches and demonstrated “exceptional and proactive” cooperation with DOJ’s National Security Division. The announcement came after one of the contractor’s employees pleaded guilty to illegally exporting flight control software to a Chinese company on the Entity List and embezzling at least $161,000 in software license sales from those exports.
John Varesi, a senior engineer and licensing officer with the Bureau of Industry and Security, is retiring from the agency this week, he said during an April 29 Sensors and Instrumentation Technical Advisory Committee meeting. Varesi had been with BIS since 2006.
The U.K. this week published a plan to reform its system for streamlining imports of goods that benefit from duty-free entry because they’re being imported temporarily, part of a broader package of tax updates released by the country’s revenue and customs agency. The changes will help businesses that import goods for short-term projects, exhibitions or events, the agency said, and “reflect the government’s commitment to a modern customs regime which supports businesses and responds to global trade and complex supply chains.” It’s also expecting the updates to “improve the customer experience for businesses engaging with customs.”
The EU this week updated its guidance about what types of Russia-related services are prohibited or exempt by sanctions. One new FAQ says EU nationals aren't necessarily barred from working for a Russian company as long as they aren't providing any of the EU's "listed" restricted services or software to the Russian government. "EU persons can still provide all services that are not prohibited in their capacity as employees," the guidance said.
The State Department has approved a possible $280 million military sale to Romania, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said April 28. The sale includes a “PATRIOT Air Defense System" and related equipment, and the principal contractors will be RTX Corp. and Lockheed Martin.