SoftBank, a Japan-based investment management firm, and DigitalBridge, a global digital infrastructure investment firm, will need approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. and several other regulators before they can complete their merger, DigitalBridge said in its latest SEC filing. Along with CFIUS, they will also need approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority, and the EU under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation. SoftBank plans to buy DigitalBridge for about $4 billion, according to SoftBank's Dec. 29 press release.
The Census Bureau updated the Schedule B tables in the Automated Export System to accept changes to the new Jan. 1 codes, the agency said in a Jan. 5 email. Census said AES will accept shipments with “outdated codes” for 30 days beyond their Dec. 31 expiration date, but reporting an outdated code after the grace period will result in a “fatal error.”
The Census Bureau alerted exporters this week about changes to Automated Export System codes that were previously used for certain validated end users, noting that the updates reflect an August rule from the Bureau of Industry and Security that removed China-based facilities as VEUs.
The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls on Jan. 2 sent a proposed rule for interagency review that could lead to U.S. Munitions List updates. The rule, titled "International Traffic in Arms Regulations: Proposed Omnibus USML Changes," would remove items from the USML that no longer warrant inclusion, add items that do, and clarify certain items described on the USML, the agency said.
The U.S. will continue to impose and enforce its sanctions against Venezuela until the country takes steps to “further the national interest of the United States” and create a better future for the Venezuelan people, Secretary of State Marci Rubio said.
President Donald Trump has ordered a U.S.-based company owned by a Chinese national to unwind its April 2024 purchase of semiconductor assets from an American technology firm, saying the deal threatens U.S. national security.
House and Senate negotiators unveiled a compromise FY 2026 Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill Jan. 5 that would provide $235 million for the Bureau of Industry and Security, up $44 million, or 23%, from the FY 2025 enacted level.
John Austerman has left his role as a division chief with the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs to join defense technology company Shield AI as its director of global export strategy, he announced on LinkedIn. Austerman worked as a division chief since October 2024 and previously worked at the Pentagon (see 2410040046).
China last week released its catalog of dual-use goods that will be subject to both import and export licenses for 2026, according to an unofficial translation of a Ministry of Commerce notice. The list, effective Jan. 1, includes various chemicals that can be used in chemical weapons, items used to make drugs, encryption technology, certain aircraft technology, and more.
The State Department has approved possible military sales, to Denmark and Poland, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said this week.