EU member states this week signed off on a new package of Russia-related sanctions that will ban imports of Russian liquefied natural gas, designate more shadow fleet vessels, target more Russian and foreign banks, introduce new export controls and more. The package, proposed in September (see 2509190029) and approved this week, came just after the U.S. sanctioned major Russian energy companies Rosneft, Lukoil and their subsidiaries because Russia hasn't agreed to a peace deal to end its war in Ukraine (see 2510220050).
The U.S. should follow up its new Russia energy sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil with more designations in the coming weeks, said John Herbst, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, in a commentary published by the Atlantic Council. To push for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump should “prepare for a monthslong ratcheting up of pressure on Moscow,” Herbst said. “At the moment, all [Russian President Vladimir] Putin sees for sure is another round of sanctions. It must not be the last round.”
A former State Department analyst on export control and sanctions evasion under President Joe Biden and a former National Security Council director for China under President George W. Bush agreed that the Bureau of Industry and Security's 50% rule was not fully thought through before its announcement.
Todd Willis, a former U.S. export control official, has joined KPMG's export controls and sanctions consulting practice, the firm announced this week. Willis was the director of the BIS Munitions Control Division before serving as the deputy director of the Export Enforcement Coordination Center during 2016-18. He was most recently a global trade adviser with manufacturing company Caterpillar.
Laura DiBella and Robert Harvey, President Donald Trump’s nominees for the Federal Maritime Commission, told lawmakers Oct. 22 that if confirmed, they would vigorously enforce the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022.
The European Automobile Manufacturers Association said it's "deeply concerned" about potential disruptions to European vehicle manufacturing stemming from a trade dispute over Chinese-owned Dutch semiconductor firm Nexperia, especially "if the interruption of Nexperia chips supplies cannot be immediately resolved."
The EU is abandoning a plan announced last month that would have postponed its new deforestation reporting requirements for one year, instead granting a six-month grace period for certain companies.
The success of the Trump administration's AI export plan depends on how fast the U.S. can export its AI technology around the world and whether the project allows the U.S. to strengthen relationships with allies, said Pablo Chavez, an adjunct senior fellow with the Center for a New American Security's Technology and National Security Program.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told a TV reporter that he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were leaving for Malaysia on Oct. 22, to hold trade talks with their Chinese counterparts.
U.S. Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack called on Congress on Oct. 20 to repeal the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, saying the 2019 law “served its moral purpose against the previous, treacherous [Bashar] Assad regime but now suffocates a nation seeking to rebuild.”