USDA is seeking public comments on ways it can improve its reporting and filing requirements under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act, which it said could help the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. better screen investments in land that may pose national security risks.
The Bureau of Industry and Security needs to be brought into the U.S. intelligence community and receive a boost in staff and resources to better manage its expanding workload, two commissioners with the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said.
Caleb Orr has been sworn in as the State Department's new assistant secretary for the Bureau of Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs, the agency announced this week on LinkedIn. Orr will lead the agency's efforts to "promote opportunities for American companies, ensure secure supply chains, and leverage economic tools to advance U.S. interests." He previously served as senior adviser to Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and as an aide to then-Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
Michael Kuiken, former national security adviser to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has been reappointed to a two-year-term on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. The term begins Jan. 1.
A Federal Maritime Commission administrative law judge on Dec. 16 dismissed a complaint against U.S. Cargo Services, saying New York City-based apparel importer Phillip Marciano LLC failed to show that a Shipping Act violation occurred.
A Federal Maritime Commission administrative law judge has approved a confidential agreement to settle allegations that ocean carrier Hapag-Lloyd provided motor carrier S.P.F. Logistics of Long Beach, California, with inadequate opportunities to return empty containers, forcing SPF to store the containers at its own expense, according to an order served Dec. 17. SPF filed its complaint against Hapag-Lloyd in July 2024 (see 2407220045).
California-based Mac Container Line alleges that COSCO Shipping Lines retaliated against it after it disputed the carrier’s detention charges for cargo shipped from Seattle to India, according to a complaint filed Dec. 18 with the Federal Maritime Commission.
The Council of the European Union on Dec. 22 renewed until July 31 its sanctions on Russia for its war in Ukraine. The measures consist of a broad array of sectoral restrictions, including sanctions on "trade, finance, energy, technology and dual-use goods, industry, transport and luxury goods," the council said. They also include a ban on the import or transfer of seaborne crude oil and petroleum products from Russia to the EU, the removal of many Russian banks from SWIFT and the suspension of broadcasting activities in the EU of various "Kremlin-backed disinformation outlets."
The European Commission on Dec. 19 imposed definitive antidumping duties on choline chloride from China, with rates ranging from 90% to 115.9%, the commission announced. Choline chloride is a chemical primarily used as an additive in feed for animals and pets. The EU-based industry is located in Belgium, Italy and Spain.
The U.K.'s Export Control Joint Unit is asking holders of Open General Export Licenses to submit their annual reports about trade made under those licenses during 2025, it said in an email. Exporters submitting those "annual returns" should verify that the transactions were made during the correct reporting period (Jan. 1, 2025-Dec. 31, 2025) and that they "surrender any licences no longer in use after submitting returns." The agency added that it's updating its open license returns guidance next year.