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Swashbuckling Trade Policy Yields Modest Fruit

The Blunderbuss was designed to scatter shot at close range, making it effective for defensive use but not ideal for long-range accuracy.
President Trump has conceded that he may have bitten off more than his team can chew, by picking simultaneous trade battles with nearly every country on Earth.   “We have, at the same time, 150 countries that want to make a deal, but you’re not able to see that many countries,” he told an audience in the UAE, conceding that it is "not possible to meet the number of people that want to see us”.
The Diffusion Rule established tiers of national eligibility, limiting the access of AI aspirants like the UAE & Saudi Arabia.
Tuesday, the Department of Commerce (DOC) initiated a rescission of the Biden Administration’s AI Diffusion Rule, while announcing additional steps to strengthen export controls on semiconductors worldwide. Below find links to the Commerce Guidance issued with the changes.
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DOJ Announces Overhaul of Enforcement, Whistleblower, and Monitor Policies

 In remarks at SIFMA’s Annual Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Conference, Matthew Galeotti, Head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, announced sweeping reforms to the Division’s white-collar enforcement framework. The new strategy emphasizes prosecutorial focus, regulatory efficiency, and enhanced incentives for corporate cooperation.

U.S., China Trade Talks Yield 90-Day Truce

 China and the United States released a joint statement Monday following their high-level economic and trade meeting in Geneva, committing to a 90-day suspension of newly imposed tariffs and the establishment of a bilateral mechanism for continued negotiations. The Geneva joint statement signals a temporary partial de-escalation in the latest round of U.S.-China trade tensions, but it does not affect the broader architecture of tariffs already in place prior to April 2025.

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Welcome to Your WTTL

The Washington Tariff and Trade Letter introduces a web-based format for easier review, research and sharing.  Clicking on a story in the newsletter will now bring you to the full text on our new web site. A .pdf version of the newsletter is available below.   For any questions about website access and your subscription, please contact us at Info@TradeRegs.com – Or call the Editor, Frank Ruffing, at +1.703.283.5220

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Vol 45 No. 20 May 19, 2025

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RAPTAC and Materials & Equipment TACs

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

Department of Commerce, Washington, DC

Commerce Seeks Alternative Dumping Price Test

The U.S. Department of Commerce has issued a formal request for public comment on potential alternatives to its long-used Cohen’s d test in detecting patterns of differential pricing in antidumping investigations. This action follows a recent Federal Circuit ruling that found Commerce’s application of the d-test unreasonable when used on datasets that fail to meet critical statistical assumptions.
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China Hawks Pile on Harvard

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.

Beijing Calls for End to 232 Campaign

China has called on the United States to terminate its Section 232 tariffs on automobiles, steel, and aluminum, and to stop its ongoing national security investigation into imported pharmaceuticals. Speaking at a regular press conference, Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) spokesperson He Yongqian denounced the measures as unjustified and harmful to global trade.

Critical Minerals 232 Investigation Draws Fire

The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) submitted comments Friday to the Department of Commerce for the Section 232 National Security Investigation of Imports of Processed Critical Minerals and Derivative Product, stating "we once again reiterate our support for the Administration’s objective to bolster national security by increasing domestic manufacturing of certain products and inputs, but believe that tariffs are not the best option."

US-Swiss Sanctions Cooperation

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to deepen cooperation on economic sanctions enforcement through enhanced information sharing.
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Cargo containers on a ship in port, Baltimore, MD.
In a May 15, 2025 update, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) clarified that U.S.-bound goods transferred to a different vessel at a foreign port after the applicable cutoff dates are not eligible for the “in-transit” exception to reciprocal tariffs imposed under Executive Order 14257.
Cloud lab providers offer fully automated, modular laboratories to customers for remote use to perform experiments and increasingly artificial intelligence-enabled research and analyses.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has published a new analysis highlighting the proliferation risks associated with emerging actors in the biotechnology sector, …
The Gate Towers, Abu Dhabi, UAE
The United States and the United Arab Emirates have launched the U.S.-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership, a comprehensive bilateral framework to deepen cooperation on artificial intelligence and critical technologies.
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated nearly two dozen companies across multiple jurisdictions for facilitating Iran’s illicit international oil trade, which funds …
A US-built battery-electric locomotive
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.

Kazakh Oil Pipeline Waiver Extended, EU Targets NordStream

Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued Russia-related General License 124, "Authorizing Petroleum Services Related to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium and Tengizchevroil." The previous license with similar content - No. 121, which also included the Sakhalin-2 project - expires on June 28, 2025.

Beirut, Lebanon

More Hizballah Sanctions

OFAC designated four individuals—two senior Hizballah officials and two financial facilitators—for their roles in coordinating and processing funding for the terrorist group. Thursday's designations target operatives based in Lebanon and Iran who manage financial transfers from overseas donors, a critical source of Hizballah’s budget.
National Capitol Building in Havana, Cuba.

State Continues Defense Sales Ban on Cuba

Following last week's announcement of sanctions on Cuban baseball players, the State Department announced a determination that Cuba did not fully cooperate with U.S. counterterrorism efforts in 2024 and has re-certified the country as a “Not Fully Cooperating Country” (NFCC) under Section 40A of the Arms Export Control Act.

Chemical Weapons Convention Filing Extended

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.

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