A federal court has ordered the forfeiture of approximately $826,000 in funds connected to an attempt to smuggle a dual-use export-controlled item to Russia. The high-precision jig grinder, manufactured in Connecticut, was intercepted in Riga, Latvia, before it could be shipped to Russia. The machine is subject to export restrictions due to its potential applications in nuclear proliferation and defense programs.

As tensions between the United States and China escalate, the AUKUS alliance – consisting of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States – has prompted research security concerns and changes to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). These changes are designed to facilitate the AUKUS plan, announced in 2021, which aims to provide Australia with the technology and capability to deploy nuclear-powered submarines.

U.S. agro-businesses, participating in a trade tour in Cuba, expressed frustration over the slow progress in boosting commerce with Cuban farmers and called on the Biden administration to ease restrictions, allowing them to invest in the island's private agriculture sector.

rade ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) nations convened in a virtual meeting hosted by Japan, this year's G7 president, to discuss concerns about global economic issues, including "economic coercion" and non-market trade practices. These issues are believed to be aimed at China, whose trade policies have increasingly come under scrutiny.

China and the United States clashed at the meeting of the Council for Trade in Goods (CTG) on April 3-4 over trade restrictive measures imposed on the basis of the national security exception. The conflict arose as China raised new specific trade concerns and requested clarification about actions taken by the United States, Japan, and the Netherlands to impose export restrictions on electronic chipmaking equipment.

The United States and Japan have struck a trade deal on critical minerals used in the production of electric vehicle batteries.  The agreement is meant to reduce both countries’ dependence on countries like China for critical minerals, senior Administration officials told reporters. The Treasury Department published proposed content rules for the critical minerals content required for eligibility for the electric vehicle tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Vice President Kamala Harris announced new initiatives aimed at boosting trade with Tanzania as she continued her visit to African countries to promote closer economic ties and offer an alternative to China.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today announced a settlement with Uphold HQ Inc. for maintaining accounts in sanctioned countries over a five year period. …

  The United States and 23 other countries have agreed to a voluntary code of conduct pledging to use export control tools to prevent the proliferation of goods, software and technologies …

Norwegian munitions firm Nammo is finding its ability to expand production of anti-tank and artillery rounds for Ukraine limited because the local electricity supplier has contracted all future capacity to a data center to hosting Tik-Tok.

The US and Mexico today announced a course of remediation to address repeated denials of rights at a Troy Michigan-based VU Manufacturing’s automotive components facility in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, three miles from the US border.

The Treasury and Federal Reserve have jointly fined Wells Fargo Bank nearly $100 million for failing to prohibit sanctions violations conducted on its trade finance platform Eximbills over a period of seven years.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul spoke on the House Floor in support of passing H.R. 1093, To direct the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a report on implementation of the advanced capabilities pillar of the trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The bill passed the House 393-4.

At an event sponsored by two Brussels think tanks, EU President Ursala von der Leyen defined the challenge of China and Europe’s response, deftly avoiding a single mention of the United States, telling listeners "the point here is that we do not want to cut economic, societal, political or scientific ties."

Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) continues to seek comments on the proposed electronic gathering of voluntary self-disclosures of export controls.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden  is ramping up his investigation into auto supply chain links to forced labor in the Xinjiang region of China, after automakers failed to provide details about their supply chains following an earlier request.

Commerce has added eleven entities to the Entity List under the destinations of Burma, China, Nicaragua, and Russia. In this rule, BIS also amends the EAR to explicitly confirm that the foreign policy interest of protecting human rights worldwide is a basis for adding entities to the Entity List.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and UK officials named associates of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the production or export of Captagon, a dangerous amphetamine.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced a commitment by the United States and more than twenty foreign governments to enhance beneficial ownership transparency.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite clarified the Department's new  Corporate Enforcement Policy at the Global Investigations Review DC Spring Conference, Washington, DC, March 23.