The Trump administration plans to build international support for using sanctions to counter Iran’s nuclear weapons program, deputy secretary of state nominee Christopher Landau said March 4.

Former Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, who worked on key sanctions and defense trade issues during the Biden administration, has joined Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service as a distinguished fellow in diplomacy, the school announced this week. Campbell helped oversee U.S. efforts to reduce defense trade restrictions with Australia and the U.K. under the AUKUS partnership (see 2404030050 and 2409180025) and testified before Congress about the administration's efforts to counter China’s support for Russia’s defense industrial base (see 2407300033).

David Newman, the DOJ’s second-highest-ranking national security official under the Biden administration, has joined Morrison Foerster to advise on sanctions issues, export control enforcement, reviews before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., and more. Newman previously served as the principal deputy assistant attorney general for DOJ’s National Security Division, where he oversaw federal prosecutors working on cases related to sanctions breaches, export control evasion and other national security issues.

Stacy Hernandez, a former international trade specialist at the Commerce Department, was “let go” from her position March 3 amid the Trump administration's sweeping cuts of employees who are still on probationary status. March 4 would have been her first day off probation, she said on LinkedIn. She joined ITA last year after working in the Bureau of Industry and Security's Office of Technology Evaluation.

Gerry Horner, a former Bureau of Industry and Security official who had been serving as chief of the Census Trade Regulations Branch since 2018, retired from the federal government last week, he announced on LinkedIn. At Census, Horner oversaw work to write regulations governing electronic export filings in the Automated Export System, including by working with BIS on their long-awaited routed export rule (see 2412100049 and 2403270056).

Beijing is studying ways to retaliate against an increase to 20% in U.S. tariffs to address fentanyl smuggling (see 2502270037), state-run news outlet Global Times reported March 3. China's countermeasures likely will include a combination of tariffs and non-tariff measures, the report said, with American agricultural and food products likely to be targeted.

The State Department approved three possible military sales to Israel, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said last week.

The State Department is using emergency authorities to expedite $4 billion in military “assistance” to Israel, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. He added that the Trump administration has approved nearly $12 billion in foreign military sales to Israel, and it “will continue to use all available tools to fulfill America’s long-standing commitment to Israel’s security, including means to counter security threats.” At least one Republican lawmaker had accused the Biden administration of delaying arms sales to Israel (see 2411040038 and 2410040042).

The Treasury Department plans to modify its beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting rule so that it applies only to foreign companies and not U.S. businesses, the agency announced March 2.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced three more joint resolutions of disapproval Feb. 25 aimed at blocking the sale of military equipment to Israel. His office provided no additional details about the measures, which were referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Sanders’ move came five days after he introduced four resolutions to block more than $8 billion in arms sales to Israel (see 2502250067).