The Senate voted 66-32 on April 8 to confirm former U.S. ambassador to Portugal George Glass to be U.S. ambassador to Japan. Glass testified March 13 before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he would seek to ensure that Japan follows through on its commitment to ramp up purchases of U.S. liquefied natural gas (see 2503130050).
The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved several sanctions and export control bills April 9, including one that would increase sanctions on Iran's energy sector to deprive Tehran of revenue it uses to fund terrorism.
The U.S. this week sanctioned Mexican national Jesus Alfredo Beltran Guzman for trafficking illegal drugs into the U.S. and for being a key leader of the drug trafficking group Beltran Leyva Organization. The Office of Foreign Assets Control said the group is "one of the most powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world, and it has moved fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine into the U.S.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned five Iranian companies and one person for supporting entities that work on Iran's nuclear program, including the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and the Iran Centrifuge Technology Co. OFAC said the designations target companies procuring or making critical technologies for the two Iranian organizations.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week published Arabic translations of several general licenses that authorize certain transactions with the Yemen-based Houthis, also known as Ansarallah. The licenses cover transactions related to certain agricultural goods, telecommunications, personal remittances, petroleum products, port operations and diplomatic missions.
Exporters and other companies could start seeing an uptick in government subpoenas as the Bureau of Industry and Security looks to increase export penalties, industry officials said this week, adding that businesses should make sure they’re scrutinizing transactions and watching for red flags.
Laura Black, former director of policy and international relations for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., has joined White & Case as partner in the global trade and foreign direct investment reviews practice, the firm announced. Black joins from Akin Gump, where she worked as senior counsel since 2022. Black worked at CFIUS from 2018 to 2022.
A Federal Maritime Commission administrative law judge has approved a confidential agreement to settle allegations by shipper Supply Source that Hong Kong-based carrier Orient Overseas Container Line Limited (OOCL) imposed unfair demurrage and detention charges, according to an FMC notice released April 1.
Moldova formally accepted the World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies on April 8, bringing the number of countries that have accepted the deal to 96. The WTO needs 15 more countries to accept to get to two-thirds of the membership, the threshold for the agreement to take effect.
China opened a dispute at the World Trade Organization on April 8 on the U.S. reciprocal tariffs, claiming that the duties violate the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994, the Agreement on Customs Valuation and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. China's challenge covers the 34% additional tariff on Chinese imports that is set to take effect April 9, along with the 10% duty on imports from all trading partners, which took effect on April 5.