China opened a safeguard investigation on the meat of bovine animals, the World Trade Organization announced. China told the WTO's Committee on Safeguards that it opened the investigation on Dec. 27 and that interested parties have 20 days from Dec. 27 to say if they wish to take part in the proceeding.
The State Department approved a possible $78.5 million military sale to Saudi Arabia, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said last week. The sale includes "MK 54 MOD 0 Lightweight Torpedoes and related elements of logistics and program support"; the principal contractor will be RTX Integrated Defense Systems.
The Pentagon this week posted its annual list of companies that it says have ties to China’s military. The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act requires the agency to publish the full 1260H List each year until Dec. 31, 2030. Companies on the list face certain U.S. government contract restrictions.
The House voted Jan. 3 to renew the House Select Committee on China as part of an adoption of rules for the new 119th Congress.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, reintroduced a bill Jan. 3 that would sanction International Criminal Court (ICC) officials for issuing arrest warrants for Israeli officials over the war in Gaza (see 2405090034).
President Joe Biden’s decision to block the proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan-based Nippon Steel (see 2501030009) “creates troubling risks to the United States’ global economic standing that could only worsen in the years to come,” Sarah Bauerle Danzman, a resident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council, wrote in a blog post for the think tank last week.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Jan. 6 issued a new license authorizing certain government, energy and personal remittance-related transactions with Syria. The license, General License No. 24, was issued about a month after the Dec. 8 collapse of the country’s Bashar al-Assad regime, which had faced strict financial sanctions.
The U.S. and France held the third Defense Trade Strategic Dialogue in Paris last month, the State Department said Jan. 6, where the two sides discussed increasing market access for defense firms and improving “the efficiency and effectiveness of export controls.” Working groups during the meeting discussed export regulations, international export control regimes and other similar issues, the agency said, although it didn’t provide specific details. “The international context and the new strategic challenges facing our countries require close coordination on international armaments issues, open dialogue to ensure efficient defense trade between our nations and the implementation of effective export controls by both countries.”
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan discussed export control topics with several senior Indian officials, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as part of a broader meeting on technology issues Jan. 6 in New Delhi, the White House said.
Japan-based Nippon Steel Corp. and U.S. Steel Corp. asked a federal court Jan. 6 to set aside the Biden administration’s “illegal and improper” decision to block Nippon Steel’s acquisition of the American firm. Their lawsuit also urges the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to order the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. to conduct a new review of the proposed $14.9 billion transaction.