Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced six joint resolutions of disapproval last week that would block the sale of more than $20 billion in U.S. military equipment to Israel, including bombs, fighter jets, ground vehicles, mortar rounds and tank ammunition.
Three Senate committee chairs urged the Biden administration last week to sanction the Amana organization, an Israeli settlement group in the West Bank, for fomenting violence against Palestinian civilians.
Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., introduced bills last week aimed at curbing U.S. investment in China.
More than 60 Senate and House Democrats on Sept. 27 called on the Biden administration, including the Bureau of Industry and Security, to take more steps to stop the illegal trafficking of U.S.-made guns to Haiti.
A hearing about the Time to Choose Act, a bipartisan bill that would ban consultants and other service providers from working both with the U.S. government and Chinese-owned companies, Senate Homeland Security Committee ranking member Rand Paul, R-Ky., said he agreed with a witness who said it could create a slippery slope.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced a bill this week that could lead to sanctions being imposed on Chinese entities and officials involved in producing precursor chemicals for fentanyl.
While Congress began a long recess this week without passing Venezuela legislation, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere said lawmakers might address the matter when they reconvene in mid-November.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee postponed a Sept. 25 markup of a bill that would sanction Georgian officials for cracking down on civil society organizations and independent media outlets (see 2409230017). The committee didn't say why it delayed the meeting at which the markup and a host of other activities were to occur. It said a new meeting date is yet to be determined.
House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., urged the Defense Department this week to add two leading Chinese display providers, BOE Technology Group and Tianma Microelectrics Co., to its Section 1260H list of Chinese military companies, citing their ties to the People’s Liberation Army.
Indonesia launched a safeguard investigation on Sept. 18 covering tarpaulins made from plastics and synthetic fibers, the World Trade Organization announced. The Indonesian Safeguards Committee told WTO about the investigation on Sept. 23, and said interested parties should submit written comments to the safeguards committee within 15 days from the start of the proceeding.