The International Trade Administration published its 2025 Defense Export Handbook, which it said serves as a “toolkit” for companies looking to comply with government regulations for defense exports. It gives guidance to businesses that are new to exporting defense items and includes “tips to navigate” U.S. export requirements, including those governing foreign military sales, direct commercial sales, shipments regulated by the Bureau of Industry and Security and Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, and more.
House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., announced Jan. 17 that he has reintroduced two sanctions bills aimed at Russian activities in Ukraine.
The Senate Finance Committee voted 16-11 Jan. 21 to approve Scott Bessent to be treasury secretary, sending the nomination to the full Senate for its consideration. Opponents raised several concerns about Bessent, including allegations he avoided paying Medicare taxes. The vote came five days after Bessent testified before the committee for his confirmation hearing (see 2501160062).
Vice President JD Vance swore in former Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., as secretary of state Jan. 21, a day after the Senate voted unanimously to approve Rubio's nomination. On the first day in his new role, Rubio was scheduled to meet with his counterparts from Australia, India and Japan. At his Jan. 15 confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio defended the role of sanctions and said he hopes to reverse a decline in the State Department’s influence in foreign policy-making (see 2501150066).
President Donald Trump directed DOJ Jan. 20 to hold off for 75 days on enforcing a law that called for China’s ByteDance to divest TikTok by Jan. 19 or face a ban of the popular social media application in the U.S.
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The Treasury Department recently published more guidance on its outbound investment prohibition and notification rules (see 2412160044), including new FAQs on how certain portions of the rules apply to in-house lawyers, the rule’s “knowledge standard,” the scope of transactions that are covered, and joint filings.
President Donald Trump took several steps during his first day in office to reverse, delay or scrutinize trade- and sanctions-related actions introduced by the Biden administration, ordering agencies to study existing export controls for possible loopholes, consider changes to outbound investment restrictions, or possibly postpone some of Biden’s recently issued rulemakings. Trump also revoked a sanctions authority that had targeted Israeli settlers in the West Bank and previewed plans to step up sanctions against drug cartels.
The U.S. and Norway signed a new technology safeguards agreement last week that outlines the “legal and technical framework” for U.S. commercial space launches from Norwegian spaceports while also “ensuring proper handling of sensitive technology,” the State Department said. The agency said the agreement is “consistent” with the Missile Technology Control Regime, the multilateral group of countries that adheres to controls around missile- and space-related technologies. “This Agreement protects sensitive U.S. technology and sets the standard for how others should use such sensitive technology in the conduct of satellite and rocket launches from foreign locations,” the State Department said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is planning to hold its annual update conference March 18-20 in Washington, according to the agency’s website. Registration for the conference hasn’t yet opened.