A confidential State Department memo obtained by Nextgov/FCW and Defense One advises U.S. diplomats to warn international partners against doing business with Chinese satellite communications providers, citing risks of espionage and military exploitation by Beijing. The memo also addresses the geopolitical implications of relying on U.S.-based satellite services, notably SpaceX’s Starlink.

On April 3, 2025, the Trump Administration announced the America First Trade Policy Report, a 24-chapter document addressing U.S. trade imbalances, non-reciprocal practices, and national security concerns. The reports themselves were not made public, rather the White House released a brief summary of the report, noting that chapters include reviews of unfair foreign trade practices, renegotiation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), and assessments of foreign currency manipulation and existing trade agreements.

Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party today released a report identifying DeepSeek, a Chinese AI platform, as a direct threat to U.S. national security.

The U.K. Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has charged United Insurance Brokers Limited (UIBL) with failing to prevent bribery by its associates in a case involving multimillion-dollar reinsurance contracts in Ecuador. UIBL, a London-based reinsurance firm, is accused of allowing U.S.-based intermediaries to bribe Ecuadorean officials between October 2013 and March 2016 in exchange for awarding contracts valued at approximately $38 million. The contracts were issued by state-owned insurers covering Ecuador’s public sector infrastructure, including water and electricity companies.

Continuing his crusade against Chinese batterymakers, Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI) sent a letter to the CEOs of two banks "demanding the banks withdraw from their role" in the upcoming Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL).

The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) is preparing to implement sweeping changes that will expand foreign ownership, control, or influence (FOCI) reviews to thousands of unclassified U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) contracts, marking a major shift in federal acquisition policy under Section 847 of the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (FY20 NDAA).

The Trump administration is revising its proposed port fees on Chinese-built vessels as it implements a sweeping Executive Order aimed at restoring American maritime strength. The administration reportedly plans to reduce the burden on exporters by basing fees largely on vessel capacity and easing charges on ships carrying U.S. agricultural exports such as soybeans and timber.

President Trump signed an Executive Order today directing a full-scale effort to rebuild U.S. commercial shipbuilding and maritime labor capacity, citing national security risks from decades of decline.

In a speech April 7th to the Hudson Institute, Council of Economic Advisors Chair Steven Miran argued that the United States has long borne an outsized cost in delivering what economists term “global public goods”—namely, international security and a stable financial system—and called for other nations to shoulder a the burden.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Final Rule restricting the export of sensitive U.S. data to foreign entities took effect April 8, 2025. The rule targets data transactions involving individuals or entities linked to designated “countries of concern”—including China (with Hong Kong and Macau), Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela.

A new report warns that Chinese state-supported e-commerce giants pose a strategic threat to American technological leadership, economic competitiveness, and consumer protection, and that it is by design. Writtten by Eli Clements at the ITIF's Center for Data Innovation, the report—How China’s State-Backed E-Commerce Platforms Threaten American Consumers and U.S. Technology Leadership—details how Chinese platforms such as Temu, SHEIN, and AliExpress are gaining global market share through extensive government support, including subsidies, regulatory advantages, and access to state-run logistics and data systems.

Citing the "tremendous progress" his team has made, President Trump issued a second executive order delaying the enforcement of a nationwide ban on TikTok, despite the statutory limit allowing only a single extension. The new order, signed on April 4, extends the ban’s implementation by another 75 days, exceeding the authority outlined in the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA).

Bipartisan outcry over proposed cuts to the budget of the Bureau of Industry and Secutiry (BIS) [13631] is building, as appropriators and industry begin to grasp both the magnitude and the administrative ruse involved.

The afternoon of his inauguration, January 20,  President Trump issued his America First Trade Policy, calling for his Secretaries of Commerce and Treasury to prepare a broad array of comprehensive reports for his review by April 1. Following a ruthless purge of the ranks of career civil servants customarily involved in the preparation of such studies, it is an open question how thorough and well informed the reports are.

Current planning documents in the Trump White House reportedly call for staff reductions  of 30 percent at the Commerce Department..   Earlier reporting had cited a goal at Commerce to slash 20 percent of workers, or nearly 10,000 employees.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) may be preparing for the elimination of the Technical Advisory Committees (TACs)  which have long defined the collaborative nature of  export enforcement and trade security.   Of the six TACs chartered, only one, Emerging Technologies, has successfully held a meeting this year.  All other TACs have cancelled or postponed meetings for the first quarter.

President Trump announced Wednesday that the United States will impose a 25% tariff on imported automobiles and automobile parts, including engines, transmissions, and electrical components, beginning April 3, 2025. The decision follows a renewed determination that such imports threaten national security by undermining the domestic automotive industrial base.

President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday authorizing a 25 percent tariff on imports from countries that continue to import Venezuelan oil, either directly or indirectly. The proposed levies would increase the cost of goods imported from China to nearly 50 percent.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU (AmCham EU) have released The Transatlantic Economy 2025 , the 22nd edition of their annual report detailing the strength …

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) Board of Directors has unanimously approved a second amendment to a direct loan of up to $4.7 billion to support the export of U.S. equipment and services for an integrated liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique. Originally authorized in 2019, the transaction had been delayed for four years and now moves forward with no material changes.