The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls reminded exporters and other companies this week that its increased registration fees took effect Jan. 9 (see 2412060068). Current registrations expiring on or after March 31 will be sent reminder notifications about the new fee structure, DDTC said, which includes higher baseline fees for Tier 1, 2 and 3 registrants. The agency also linked to guidance on how to create a new registration and how registrants can calculate their new registration payment.
China suggested this week it will allow its officials to carry out routine talks and other activities with new Secretary of State Marco Rubio despite the fact that Rubio was sanctioned by Beijing in 2020. China will ”firmly defend national interests,” a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said during a Jan. 21 press conference in Beijing, according to a translated transcript provided by the Chinese Embassy in Washington. “In the meantime, it's necessary for high-level Chinese and American officials to maintain contact in an appropriate way.”
Beijing pushed back this week against recent U.S. sanctions on a Chinese national and cybersecurity company for their roles in hacking the U.S. government and American telecommunications companies (see 2501170072), saying the measures are an “abuse of sanctions against China.”
The U.S. will impose more sanctions against Russia if Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn't move quickly to negotiate a deal that will end its war against Ukraine, President Donald Trump posted Jan. 22 on Truth Social.
President Donald Trump and lawmakers should carry out a “comprehensive” review of past U.S. technology and investment restrictions involving semiconductors, including the range of recent export controls over advanced chips and related equipment that resulted from the Biden administration’s “small yard, high fence” strategy, the chip industry said.
The International Trade Administration published its 2025 Defense Export Handbook, which it said serves as a “toolkit” for companies looking to comply with government regulations for defense exports. It gives guidance to businesses that are new to exporting defense items and includes “tips to navigate” U.S. export requirements, including those governing foreign military sales, direct commercial sales, shipments regulated by the Bureau of Industry and Security and Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, and more.
House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., announced Jan. 17 that he has reintroduced two sanctions bills aimed at Russian activities in Ukraine.
Vice President JD Vance swore in former Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., as secretary of state Jan. 21, a day after the Senate voted unanimously to approve Rubio's nomination. On the first day in his new role, Rubio was scheduled to meet with his counterparts from Australia, India and Japan. At his Jan. 15 confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio defended the role of sanctions and said he hopes to reverse a decline in the State Department’s influence in foreign policy-making (see 2501150066).
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President Donald Trump took several steps during his first day in office to reverse, delay or scrutinize trade- and sanctions-related actions introduced by the Biden administration, ordering agencies to study existing export controls for possible loopholes, consider changes to outbound investment restrictions, or possibly postpone some of Biden’s recently issued rulemakings. Trump also revoked a sanctions authority that had targeted Israeli settlers in the West Bank and previewed plans to step up sanctions against drug cartels.