The joint resolution of disapproval that Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., recently introduced to block arms sales to Taiwan (see 2601060046) would affect more than $11 billion in possible transactions that the State Department announced Dec. 17, according to legislative text posted Jan. 8 on Congress.gov. Paul and his office have declined to comment on his proposal.
Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., urged committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., to hold hearings on the implications of the recent U.S. military operation in Venezuela, including the impact on U.S. sanctions policy.
The House voted 397-28 on Jan. 8 to approve a compromise three-bill FY 2026 appropriations package that would provide $235 million for the Bureau of Industry and Security, up $44 million (23%) from the enacted FY 2025 level.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., issued a statement Jan. 7 saying that he hopes there will be a vote on the Russia sanctions bill (see 2512190029 and 2601050050) "as early as next week."
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week removed Kyriaki Demetriou Kamperi from its Specially Designated Nationals List after originally sanctioning him in 2023 for his Russia ties. The U.S. at the time said Kamperi was a "leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of" the Russian government and Russian bank Sberbank. The U.S. also said he had ties to companies owned by Christodoulos Georgiou Vassiliades, who was also designated for being a Sberbank executive. OFAC updated the SDN entry for the company Vassiliades & Co UK Limited to remove a reference to Kamperi.
The U.S. seized two vessels on the high seas Jan. 7 after saying they had violated U.S. sanctions.
The Bureau of Industry and Security reached a $1.5 million settlement this week with an international procurement company after its Shanghai affiliate admitted to illegally transferring low-level semiconductor equipment to a Chinese company on the Entity List.
The Federal Maritime Commission ordered MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company to pay about $22.7 million in civil penalties for violating U.S. shipping laws, up from the $16 million amount that an administrative law judge called for last year (see 2502260072).
The U.K. government is "unaware" of any British weapons or ammunition being illegally exported for the ongoing civil war in Sudan, Trade Policy Minister Chris Bryant said Jan. 6 in a written response to the U.K. Parliament.
Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, urged the Trump administration Jan. 6 to consider sanctioning Faiq Zaidan, head of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council, for helping Iran increase its influence over Iraq.