Although there remains a “contentious” debate around how exactly the U.S. should impose export controls on high-end AI chips, White House adviser Jacob Helberg said he believes the Trump administration will find a way to restrict the most sensitive technologies while still making sure the rest of the world relies on AI hardware, software and models exported from the U.S., not from China. Helberg said he expects the administration to provide clearer answers in the coming months.
Ross Kennedy, the founder of an advisory firm who joined the Bureau of Industry and Security in March (see 2504030073), has been named the acting assistant secretary of export enforcement, according to the agency's website and Kennedy's LinkedIn page. The agency is awaiting Senate confirmation for its permanent enforcement chief (see 2507230053). Kennedy, who previously was a BIS senior adviser, replaces John Sonderman, who is listed as the principal deputy assistant secretary for export enforcement.
The State Department last week approved a possible $780 million military sale to Poland, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said. The sale includes "Javelin Missile Systems and related elements of logistics and program support," and the principal contractors will be RTX and Lockheed Martin.
A tentative TikTok deal reached between the U.S. and China will ensure the app will be majority-owned by American investors and will give the U.S. control over its algorithm, senior White House officials said during a call with reporters Sept. 22. TikTok’s U.S. operations will be transferred “into a new joint venture” based in the U.S., with a board of directors that’s mostly American, an official said. Technology company Oracle will “serve as a security provider,” overseeing “top-to-bottom security throughout the company.”
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., introduced a bill last week to direct the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to prioritize convincing Canada and Mexico to institute a foreign investment review board similar to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS.
The Council of the European Union on Sept. 22 extended its sanctions regime on Sudan for another year to Oct. 10, 2026. The sanctions cover 10 people and eight entities and were imposed to target "those responsible for destabilising Sudan and obstructing its political transition."
The U.K. on Sept. 22 removed Tatiana Evtushenkova -- director of the venture capital firm Redline Capital U.K. and member of the board of directors for Redline Capital Management -- from its Russia sanctions list. The U.K. originally sanctioned Evtushenkova for her ties to Russian businessman Vladimir Evtushenkov. The country didn't provide a reason for the delisting.
The Treasury Department is seeking public comments on how it should implement the Genius Act, which became law in July and is partly meant to prevent criminals, terror groups and others from using stablecoins to launder money, evade sanctions or finance terrorism. The agency is looking for feedback on potential regulations "that may be promulgated by Treasury," including around "regulatory clarity, prohibitions on certain issuances and marketing, Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions obligations," and more.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned the Lex Instituto de Estudos Juridicos LTDA, a holding company for Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who was sanctioned earlier this year for ordering "arbitrary" pretrial detentions and suppressing freedom of expression (see 2507300031). OFAC said Moraes used the company for ownership of his residence and other residential properties. The agency also sanctioned Moraes' wife, Viviane Barci de Moraes, who served as the head of the company. They were both designated under Global Magnitsky-related human rights authorities.
ShapeShift, a defunct Swiss cryptocurrency exchange that operated out of Colorado, will pay $750,000 to the Office of Foreign Assets Control to resolve allegations that it violated sanctions against Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria. OFAC said the exchange had no sanctions compliance program and illegally allowed users in those countries to use its platform for digital asset transactions.