Rep. Maria Salazar, R-Fla., who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, announced Jan. 14 that she is reintroducing the Fighting Oppression until the Reign of Castro Ends (FORCE) Act, which would prevent the executive branch from removing Cuba from the state sponsors of terrorism list until the island country commits to democracy and human rights. The bill has 20 co-sponsors, all Republicans. Her announcement came the same day the White House revealed that President Joe Biden is removing Cuba from the list (see 2501140080).

The European Commission this week called on member states to carry out a 15-month review of ongoing and past outbound investments in the semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum technology sectors, which will help the bloc “assess risks to economic security potentially arising from such transactions.”

The Bureau of Industry and Security this week issued a summary of the various export control actions it has taken under the Biden administration, including its various semiconductor-related rules, export restrictions against Russia, Entity Listings, academic outreach efforts (see 2408140049) and more. It also highlighted the administration’s export control work with U.S. allies, including with the U.K. and Australia under the AUKUS partnership (see 2404180035), initiatives with Japan and South Korea (see 2404260067), and enforcement coordination with the Group of 7 nations (see 2409250004).

The Netherlands on Jan. 15 announced expanded export controls to cover more advanced semiconductor equipment, a move the country’s foreign ministry said is necessary to address increasing “security risks associated with the uncontrolled export of these technologies.”

The U.S. this week issued a host of new Russia-related sanctions, designating nearly 100 entities as Russia-related secondary-sanctions risks and a range of other people and companies that it said are helping Russia evade sanctions. The Treasury Department sanctions specifically target a “sanctions evasion scheme” helping people in Russia and China make international payments for sensitive goods and a Kyrgyzstan bank also helping Russia evade sanctions, while new State Department sanctions target more than 150 entities and people, including in China, for supporting Russia’s military industrial base.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is placing new export controls on certain laboratory equipment that can be used for biotechnology purposes that may threaten U.S. national security, the agency said in an interim final rule released this week.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is adding 27 technology companies to the Entity List, mostly in China, for helping Beijing make or procure advanced semiconductors or for supporting the country’s military modernization efforts through AI, the agency said in two final rules released Jan. 15 and effective Jan. 16. It’s also removing three entities tied to an Indian atomic energy agency.

The Bureau of Industry and Security announced another set of changes to its semiconductor-related export controls Jan. 15, creating new lists of trusted chip designers and service providers, introducing new reporting requirements for certain higher-risk customers and making a host of other revisions, clarifications and updates to its existing restrictions, including its latest advanced AI chip controls released earlier this week.

John Goodrich, founder of trade compliance consultancy J.D. Goodrich and Associates, retired as of Jan. 1, according to his LinkedIn profile. The company’s website says that it’s no longer taking new clients.

Philip Luck is leaving his role as the State Department’s deputy chief economist to become the new Scholl Chair in International Business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the think tank announced this week. Luck will focus on “issues at the intersection of economics and national security planning,” CSIS said, including U.S. technology competition and supply chain resilience. He will replace outgoing chair Bill Reinsch, a former Bureau of Industry and Security official during the Bill Clinton administration, who will continue to do research at CSIS.