More than 15 Senate Republicans introduced a bill July 15 that would impose human rights sanctions on Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and incoming President Ebrahim Raisi. The legislation would require the president to impose sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. Those introducing the bill include Foreign Relations Committee members, among them Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Todd Young of Indiana. The U.S. already imposes certain sanctions against Khamenei (see 1906240046).
Supply chain resilience requires diversification with allies and away from China, witnesses said during a Senate Commerce Committee hearing, but they cautioned senators that improving resilience is complicated, and that government intervention can have unintended consequences. The committee was examining how Commerce Department implementation of the recent China package, once called Endless Frontier, could reduce supply chain failures in the future.
A bipartisan group of senators urged President Joe Biden to consider sanctions if Turkey continues to interfere in Cyprus' territory. The U.S. should work with the European Union to “make clear” that Turkey’s continued attempts to develop the Varosha coastline will be met with multilateral sanctions, the senators said in a July 14 letter. “The U.S. and the EU should make clear to President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan that continuing to violate [United Nations Security Council] Resolutions and the rule of law is unacceptable,” said the senators, headed by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez, D-N.J.
The U.S. should impose sanctions against Russia for the Kremlin’s efforts to shelter cybercriminals responsible for a recent wave of ransomware attacks, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said. In a July 13 letter, Menendez urged the State Department to use the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act provisions to impose penalties on the Russian government. “[W]ithout significant pressure from the United States and its allies,” Menendez said, “the Kremlin is unlikely to curb the cybercriminals it currently shelters.” The State Department declined to comment.
The Senate Finance Committee recommended Sarah Bianchi and Jayme White to be deputy U.S. trade representatives, with strong bipartisan tallies on July 13. White, who was the chief trade adviser to Senate Finance Committee Democrats before his nomination, was approved 25-3. If confirmed, White would have responsibility for the Western Hemisphere, Europe, the Middle East, labor and the environment (see {Ref:2104160066]). Sarah Bianchi, who was approved 27-1, would cover Asia, Africa, services, textiles, investment and industrial competitiveness (see 2106010033). They were nominated by President Joe Biden in April. Confirmation votes will come later in the full Senate
President Joe Biden nominated Alan Estevez, a former Obama administration Pentagon official, to lead the Bureau of Industry and Security, the White House announced July 13. Estevez is currently a defense and security consultant with Deloitte Consulting after serving as the principal deputy undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics and representing the Defense Department on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. Estevez didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The House Appropriations Committee released its draft proposals for funding the Commerce Department and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. It wants to spend $577.4 million on the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration, $36.4 million more than the current fiscal year's spending, a 6.7% increase. It wants to spend $143.4 million on the Bureau of Industry and Security, up $10.4 million from the current year, a 7.8% increase.
The United Kingdom Foreign Affairs Committee issued a list of recommendations for how to respond to human rights violations in China's Xinjiang region in a July 8 report, “Never Again: The UK's Responsibility to Act on Atrocities in Xinjiang and Beyond.” The report looks at the multilateral system, diaspora and culture, forced labor and the private sector, technology and research, and the U.K.'s approach to atrocity prevention. Recommendations include coordinating sanctions with allies, introducing legal obligations to remove forced labor from business supply chains partnered with sanctions for noncompliance, banning U.K. entities from conducting business with Chinese companies associated with the Xinjiang atrocities, and providing access to sanctions experts for all government departments.
President Joe Biden signed an executive order July 9 that calls for the Federal Maritime Commission to "consider further rulemaking to improve detention and demurrage practices and enforcement of related Shipping Act prohibitions." The FMC should also "vigorously enforce the prohibition of unjust and unreasonable practices in the context of detention and demurrage" and request recommendations on the subject from the National Shipper Advisory Committee. The EO also suggests that the U.S. Department of Agriculture "consider initiating a rulemaking to define the conditions under which the labeling of meat products can bear voluntary statements indicating that the product is of United States origin, such as 'Product of USA.'” The EO addresses a wide range of issues meant to improve and promote competition in the U.S. economy, the White House said in a fact sheet.
Several U.S. and foreign companies in June and July provided updates to their transactions that require foreign investment reviews and approvals. The deals include a signed national security agreement (NSA) with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., plans to file joint CFIUS declarations and a stalled purchase involving a South Korean semiconductor company.