Policy Briefs

A controversial proposal to penalize Canadian firms for shifting production abroad using the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act (FEMA) has drawn sharp legal and economic criticism.

Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), Chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) sent a letter today to the CEOs of Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt, urging the companies to cease using the term “Taiwan, China” in corporate materials. The official name of Taiwan is the Republic of China (ROC).

A joint cybersecurity advisory from U.S., UK, EU, and allied intelligence agencies warns that Russia’s GRU Unit 26165 (APT28/Fancy Bear) has engaged in a sustained cyber espionage campaign targeting Western logistics entities and IT companies—particularly those supporting Ukraine’s war effort.

In a pointed and urgent address titled “A Reckless Game of Regulatory Jenga,” SEC Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw sharply criticized recent deregulatory moves by the Commission, warning that they undermine institutional integrity, ignore market risks, and erode protections for investors and the financial system.

Rules & Procedures Technical Advisory Committee will meet June 10 at 9AM Materials and Equipment Technical Advisory Committee will meet June 5th at 10AM

A group of House Republicans is demanding detailed records and testimony from Harvard University over what they characterize as troubling connections to sanctioned Chinese and Iranian entities.

Amid the flurry of executive orders, chain saws and performative policymaking, regulatory progress and adverse developments in global health persist.   We share perspective on biological weaponry in the time of AI, an update on dual-use biologics rules and pending changes, a discussion of the emergence of China in drug discovery, and efforts to reduce drug prices which may lead to new export controls.

A bipartisan group of senators have introduced the Safeguarding Transit Operations to Prohibit (STOP) China Act,   aimed at protecting U.S. transit systems and supply chains from Chinese government-linked companies. The legislation would bar the Department of Transportation (DOT) from using appropriated funds to support the purchase of buses or rail cars from entities affiliated with the Chinese government. It also directs the U.S. Trade Representative, in consultation with the Attorney General, to identify and publish a list of prohibited Chinese companies.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is seeking final public comments on its request to renew the information collection related to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) Declaration and Report Handbook and associated forms and regulations.

President Trump Monday signed an executive order aimed at reducing prescription drug costs by establishing a “most-favored-nation” (MFN) pricing policy, which would benchmark U.S. drug prices to those paid in economically comparable countries.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), under the Department of the Treasury, has announced a request for public comments on 13 currently approved information collections, all of which are being submitted for extension without programmatic change.

The House of Representatives passed bills related to trade and economic security: addressing IP protection, procurement of Uyghur Region-origin goods, Chinese cultural missions in the US, and Export License reporting to Congress.

Friday's surprise announcement that the Commerce Department has opened a Section 232 investigation on the import of commercial aircraft, jet engines and parts further confirms the embrace of the mechanism by the Trump administration.   Since January 20, 2025, the U.S. Department of Commerce has initiated seven Section 232 investigations under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, focusing on imports deemed critical to national security.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced today the launch of a pilot Fast Track Program aimed at streamlining foreign investment review for investors from allied and partner nations. The initiative includes the development of a “Known Investor” portal to allow the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to collect preliminary information from eligible investors before formal filings.

America’s leadership in drug innovation is eroding as pharmaceutical companies increasingly source new compounds from China, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb warns in STAT. In 2024, one-third of all new drugs licensed by U.S. firms originated in Chinese labs — a stark contrast to five years ago, when that number was zero.

Two congressional China Hawks have called on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to delist Chinese companies tied to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from U.S. exchanges, citing serious national security concerns and investor risks

On May 2, 2025, the Trump administration submitted its discretionary budget proposal for fiscal year (FY) 2026, calling for a $163 billion cut (approximately 23%) in non-defense discretionary spending compared to FY2025, while increasing defense funding by 13% to $1.01 trillion and allocating $175 billion to border security. A portion of this increase—$325 billion—is expected to be enacted via reconciliation. The Commerce budget includes $134 million in targeted investments to "strengthen trade enforcement and aggressively protect American innovation." This includes an additional $122 million for the Bureau of Industry and Security, a more than 50-percent increase, while cutting $145 million from the category "International Trade Administration – Global Markets."

C+I+G+(X-M).   For all the scientifically notated plumage economists and policy makers clutch as adornment, the arithmetic of Gross Domestic Product is cruelly simple.   Consumption, Investment and Government Spending, plus Net Exports makes an economy. In the first quarter of 2025, US net exports reduced the GDP by nearly five points, the greatest drag since 1947.

Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender emphasized the Trump Administration’s commitment to balancing foreign investment with national security at the American Conference Institute’s CFIUS Conference Thursday April 24, , detailing the Administration’s initiatives under the newly issued “America First Investment Policy.”

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday slashed its global growth forecast for 2025 to 2.8%, down from 3.3% in January, citing a sharp rise in tariffs and growing policy uncertainty. The United States faces one of the steepest revisions, with growth now projected at 1.8%, compared to a previous estimate of 2.7%.

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