Vol 45 No. 17 April 28, 2025

Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, has called on the Trump administration to exempt small businesses from the sweeping tariffs announced earlier this month, citing disproportionate harm to Main Street enterprises.

The House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party has issued subpoenas to China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom—three state-owned Chinese telecommunications firms—for failing to respond to a bipartisan request for information dated March 4. The subpoenas, which require compliance by May 7, 2025, are part of an ongoing congressional investigation into whether the companies continue to operate within the United States in ways that may endanger national security or compromise the privacy of U.S. citizens.

The United Kingdom announced substantial amendments to its Syria sanctions regime, signaling a strategic shift in support of Syria’s post-Assad reconstruction. The updated regulations lift sanctions on 12 Syrian entities and remove restrictions in select sectors, including financial services and energy production.

The European Union has formally initiated arbitration under Article 25 of the World Trade Organization’s Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) in the ongoing intellectual property dispute with China (DS611), concerning Beijing’s enforcement practices in standard-essential patent (SEP) litigation. The EU’s notice of appeal, circulated to WTO members Thursday, marks the second appeal proceeding conducted under the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA), which substitutes the WTO Appellate Body’s functions for participating members.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a final rule in the Federal Register amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to add 18 foreign entities to the Unverified List (UVL) and remove five previously listed parties.