A former top Commerce Department adviser in the Biden administration expects President Donald Trump and Congress to continue prioritizing export controls and other trade restrictions, although he said the government’s success partly depends on whether the administration can craft a clear, coordinated economic security strategy that doesn’t only rely on tariffs.
Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., will chair the Senate Banking Subcommittee on National Security and International Trade and Finance in the new 119th Congress, the full committee announced Jan. 23. Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., will be ranking member of the subcommittee, whose jurisdiction includes export controls and the International Trade Administration. The subcommittee also will include Sens. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb.; Jim Banks, R-Ind., Dave McCormick, R-Pa., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.
Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., said Jan. 22 that he plans to reintroduce a bill to prohibit Americans from owning the publicly traded securities of U.S.-sanctioned companies. Sherman made his comment about the People's Republic of China Military and Human Rights Capital Markets Sanctions Act during the House Financial Services Committee’s organizational meeting for the new 119th Congress. Sherman previously introduced the bill in March 2024 (see 2409270021).
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., President Donald Trump’s choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Jan. 21 that she would favor reimposing sanctions on Iran for violating its nuclear weapons-related obligations.
The Australian Sanctions Office recently published a risk assessment tool to help companies evaluate the “sanctions risks” of a transaction or other activity, including whether the company should investigate further, obtain legal advice, apply for a license or abandon the deal. The tool covers activities with sanctioned parties, deals involving export- or import-controlled goods, the provision of sanctioned services and more.
The new Trump administration announced plans to redesignate the Yemen-based Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, subjecting the group to additional sanctions, financial reporting requirements and other restrictions.
Although the Bureau of Industry and Security's new artificial intelligence export control framework published earlier this month is “promising,” it also lacks flexibility and omits some key U.S. allies, the Rand think tank said in a new report.
The Trump administration should look to negotiate new types of economic and trade deals that are centered on economic security issues, such as export controls and investment screening measures, the Center for a New American Security said in a new report this week. The think tank also called on President Donald Trump to create an economic security strategy, which should outline avenues to strengthen export control enforcement.
Ivan Kanapathy, former senior vice president at Beacon Global Strategies, has been named the senior director for Asia at the National Security Council, the firm announced Jan. 21. Kanapathy, who served on the NSC under the first Trump administration, has voiced support for U.S. unilateral and extraterritorial trade controls against China (see 2306160043) and has criticized the Treasury Department for being slow to update its Non-Specially Designated Nationals Chinese Military Industrial Complex List (see 2402130050).
The House Foreign Affairs Committee is forming a task force to improve how the government handles foreign military sales and export controls, committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., announced Jan. 22 during a committee organizational meeting.