The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week sanctioned 21 people and entities, along with one vessel, for helping to move oil, weapons and dual-use goods for the Iran-backed Houthis. The designations targeted what OFAC said are "financial conduits" between the Iranian government and the Houthis, as well as "front companies, facilitators, and operatives" in Yemen, Oman and the United Arab Emirates that are part of the Houthis’ "vast revenue generation and smuggling networks."

Members responding to the American Chamber of Commerce in China's 2026 business survey cited slower customs clearances, export licenses and related approvals, and import and export controls as the non-tariff barriers they have most frequently faced over the past year, and more than half said their "operational and investment decisions" have been "significantly impacted" by export controls.

DOJ unveiled last week that it had seized two "mission crew trainers" in 2024 that allegedly were bound for the Chinese military from a South African flight academy on the Entity List. The agency made the announcement Jan. 15 while filling a forfeiture complaint for both trainers with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Although the Trump administration plans to allow Nvidia H200 chips to be exported to China, a White House official stressed last week that those exports will be closely scrutinized and that the U.S. will continue to restrict exports of the most leading-edge American chips and technology. Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, also said he doesn’t believe the Bureau of Industry and Security needs any additional authorities from Congress to boost its export control implementation or enforcement powers.

Glenn Leon, former chief of the DOJ criminal division's fraud section, has joined Jenner & Block as a partner in its Washington, D.C., office, the firm announced Jan. 15. At DOJ, Leon oversaw various criminal investigations on "healthcare fraud, commodities, securities, procurement fraud and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act" violations, the firm said.

Katherine Reid has been named acting principal deputy assistant secretary for export administration, according to the BIS website, a role formerly held by BIS veteran Matt Borman (see 2505060015). Reid, a career civil service employee, was previously director of the BIS Office of Strategic Industries and Economic Security.

The EU and the U.K. plan to lower their price caps on Russian crude oil from $47.60 per barrel to $44.10 per barrel, they announced this week. The new price will take effect Feb. 1, although a transitional period through April 16 will permit certain payments of $47.60 per barrel for contracts that were concluded before 11:01 GMT on Jan. 31 for the U.K. and before Jan. 16 for the EU, according to FAQs released by the two entities. The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation also updated its price cap general license to reflect the change.

The Netherlands is considering a new sanctions bill that could give the country power to impose administrative penalties alongside its existing criminal framework, create a “central reporting point” for sanctions, and put in place other measures to modernize the country’s sanctions implementation and rules, Dutch law firm Knepplehout said in a client alert this month.

The State Department has approved possible military sales to Kuwait and Iraq, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said this week.

Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., introduced a bill Jan. 14 that would require entities on the Defense Department’s 1260H List of Chinese military companies to also be included on the Treasury Department’s Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies (NS-CMIC) List to bar them from accessing U.S. capital markets.