The U.S. is postponing the Bureau of Industry and Security's 50% rule for one year in exchange for Beijing delaying its rare earth export controls for one year, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an Oct. 30 interview with Fox Business. "We are going to be suspending [the BIS 50% rule] for a year in return for the suspension on the rare earth licensing regime," he said.
Nvidia’s Blackwell AI processors, the company’s latest advanced AI chip, will be part of trade negotiations in talks with China this week, President Donald Trump told reporters Oct. 28.
Michael Wain, former deputy assistant director for policy with the Office of Foreign Assets Control, has joined Akin as a senior policy adviser. Wain left OFAC in September after joining the agency in 2019.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, on Oct. 28 called for designating Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) a Foreign Terrorist Organization, following the mass killing of civilians during the militia’s takeover of the city of El Fasher.
More than 50 congressional Democrats, including Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., urged the Trump administration Oct. 27 to reverse its recent decision to roll back a Biden-era interim final rule that increased restrictions on firearms exports.
Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., introduced a bill Oct. 27 that calls for imposing sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act against Chinese officials who violate religious freedom.
The Council of the European Union on Oct. 27 renewed its sanctions regime against ISIL/Da'esh and al-Qaeda for another year to Oct. 31, 2026. The sanctions currently apply to 15 people and seven entities.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week, in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The U.S. and Japan this week agreed to improve “technology protection” measures and enforcement coordination as part of a new Technology Prosperity Deal. Japan also agreed to pursue new sanctions against the Russian shadow fleet, strengthen foreign investment reviews and commit to work with the U.S. to strengthen critical minerals supply chains.
It seems unlikely that the Bureau of Industry and Security could withdraw its new 50% rule either due to industry pushback or as part of trade negotiations with China, said Matt Axelrod, the former BIS export enforcement chief.