A sticking point in House-Senate negotiations over legislation to restrict U.S. outbound investment in China has been a Senate proposal to give the Securities and Exchange Commission a role, a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee said Dec. 10.
The newly released FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) calls for the executive branch to take several actions related to export controls, including a review of China’s efforts to evade U.S. restrictions, and an assessment of Japan’s possible participation in the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) security partnership.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned the Houthi National Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs and its leader, Abdulqader Al-Murtadha, for operating prisons in Yemen on behalf of the Houthis, a group labeled by the U.S. as a terrorist organization (see 2401170025). OFAC also sanctioned Fawaz al-Akhras for providing “financial, material, or technological support for” Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, who reportedly left the country after his regime was overthrown by rebels over the weekend. OFAC said the sanctions mark International Human Rights Day on Dec. 10.
Jordan opened a safeguard investigation on safety and protective footwear, the World Trade Organization said. Jordan notified the WTO Committee on Safeguards that it opened the proceeding on Dec. 1, and that interested parties should identify themselves by Dec. 22 and provide written comments by Jan. 14.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged the U.N. Security Council Dec. 6 to expand the arms embargo on Sudan’s Darfur region to cover all of the war-torn country. “While I am grateful the Security Council recently unanimously decided to extend the embargo until September 2025, combatants on both sides of the conflict continue to receive a steady flow of weapons and ammunition from all corners of the country,” Murphy said. The warring parties then “use these weapons to continue their brutal campaigns and terrorize innocent civilians.” Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin, D-Md., made a similar recommendation in November (see 2411250026).
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee, and eight other committee Republicans urged the Biden administration Dec. 5 to step up implementation and enforcement of sanctions on Iran’s oil sector to deprive Tehran of funding for terrorism and nuclear weapons development.
House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., urged the Bureau of Industry and Security Dec. 4 to close several “loopholes” in its new export controls on advanced computing chips and chipmaking equipment (see 2412020016).
Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., introduced a bill this week to delay implementation of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s new beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting rule by at least a year.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said Dec. 5 that he will seek to enhance implementation of sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act when he becomes the panel’s chairman in January.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., introduced a bill Dec. 3 to impose sanctions on Chinese police departments that operate in the U.S. or try to do so.