In a sternly worded letter to CEO Jim Farley of the Ford Motor Company, two of the House’s leading China Hawks lashed into the company’s plans to license Chinese technology for electric vehicle battery production, calling for access to Ford’s business records and correspondence related to the deal.

Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control designated dozens of entities as Washington continues to apply economic pressure on Moscow for it's invation of Ukraine. The July 20 actions address munitions, metals & mining, finance, energy and aerospace technology interests.

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Chair of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) of the Education and the Workforce Committee, recently sent a letter to the President and Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley. expressing concerns about the University's joint institute with Tsinghua University and the Shenzhen government in China.. The lawmakers pointed out that the Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute (TBSI) provides the People's Republic of China (PRC) with easy access to Berkeley's research and expertise. They emphasized that this access potentially allows the PRC to gain economic, technological, and military advantages.

The Department of Commerce launched the Data Privacy Framework (DPF) program website today, enabling eligible U.S. companies to self-certify their participation in the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework …

New foreign direct investment in the United States dropped by $185.1 billion – or 51 percent – in 2022, compared to the $362.6 billion recorded the previous year, the Commerce Department reported last week. Expenditures by foreign direct investors to acquire, establish or expand US businesses totaled $177.5 billion in 2022, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis report.

The European Commission has adopted its adequacy decision for the European Union-US Data Privacy Framework, concluding that the United States ensures an adequate level of protection – …

A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party introduced legislation aimed at …

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the U.S. National Intelligence Director (ODNI) have declared the fulfillment of their commitments under President Joe Biden's Executive Order (EO) 14086 regarding the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. Since 2020, when the European Court of Justice nullified the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield agreement due to concerns about U.S. government surveillance activities, the U.S. and the EU have been on a quest to establish a new data flow mechanism. This decision unsettled transatlantic data transfers and necessitated a resolution that would ensure enhanced privacy and data protection for EU data subjects. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a press statement that the DOJ's designation of EU member states, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, as "qualifying states." These designations allow citizens of these nations to seek redress through the proposed Data Protection Review Court, offering enhanced U.S. privacy protections in the process.

On June 27, 2023, the U.S. Department of State published its 2023 Fiscal Transparency Report, revealing that out of 141 global posts surveyed, only 72 governments met the basic criteria for fiscal …

Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a lengthy conversation with Chinese officials last week over Beijing’s belief that the United States is trying to “contain” it economically. …

The United States and Mongolia signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday to jointly advance security and resilient critical mineral supply chains in the Indo-Pacific. Washington is looking …

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) has announced the creation of a new bipartisan task force aimed at overhauling the U.S. foreign military sales process. Named the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Technical, Industrial, and Governmental Engagement for Readiness (TIGER) Task Force, it is set to be led by Congressman Mike Waltz (R-FL) and co-led by Congressman Seth Moulton (D-MA).

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, may bring a PhD and extensive national security experience to the role, but he takes seriously the political mantle he's assumed as the most enthusiastic anti-communist from the Fox River Valley in three generations.  

A bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers has introduced the Sanctions Evasion Whistleblower Rewards Act, legislation aimed at bolstering national security by incentivizing the exposure of sanctions evasion. This move will effectively offer rewards for information leading to the apprehension or conviction of those evading U.S. or UN sanctions.

Friday, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) concluded the third plenary of the Singaporean presidency, during which it advanced its anti-corruption agenda, approved for public consultation a …

Friday, the EU Council announced the adoption of the eleventh comprehensive package of sanctions, imposing restrictive measures on an additional 71 individuals and 33 entities identified as …

A large group of Republican senators introduced legislation requiring the President to submit any sanctions relief for Iran for Congressional review before taking action, while House Foreign Affairs Committee approved legislation that would prevent US sanctions on Iran from expiring in 2026 unless Tehran meets specific criteria.

In an effort to counter rising foreign ownership of U.S. farmland, Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) has introduced the Protecting American Farmland Act in the House of Representatives. This legislation proposes a 60% excise tax on "Countries of Concern" attempting to buy American farm and ranch land. 

Export practitioners and regulators were called to the hill in recent weeks to explain to lawmakers what was being done and what could be improved.  BIS and Treasury Officials fielded queries in the Senate, while an oversight committee in the House invited former Commerce officials to discuss what could be done better.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the U.S. Department of Commerce have issued a supplemental joint alert urging financial institutions …