The US Senate and House have passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), enabling the Nuclear Fuel Security Act. The bill, however, has encountered a delay in the Senate due to a hold placed by Senator Ted Cruz for reasons not directly related to the bill itself.

In a wide ranging conversation at Georgetown University, Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Alan Estevez shared his perspective on the evolution of export controls and the road ahead. "I believe now that we are at sort of a foundational inflection point as to the role and purpose of export controls," Estevez said. " Commerce is in the middle of national security in a number of spheres these days.

"We do it from two perspectives. We do it from offense and we do it from defense. Offense is things like Chips Act. So how are we going to build chip production in the United States, where we have assured supply? Semiconductors are the foundation of a lot of what goes on in our economy. "The core of the defense structure is our export controls. Protecting the technology that our adversaries could use against us, should it ever come to any kind of kinetic action...

The elder of two Indiana brothers was sentanced to 200 months in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release, after pleading guilty to attempting to provide material support or resources, namely, firearms, to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Moyad Dannon's  brother, Mahde Dannon, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in October 2021, after pleading guilty to the same charges.  At the time of their arrests (2018) the men were aged 21 and 20, respectively.

Fujian-based furniture and housewares manufacturer Homestar North America, LLC has agreed to pay $798,334 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by failing to pay customs duties owed for furniture imports from China. The settlement resolves allegations that Homestar North America, LLC and its parent company Homestar Corporation, conspired to underreport the value of imported goods delivered to Homestar North America, LLC in the United States following the two increases on Section 301 tariffs for certain products manufactured in China under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.

After a year of limited productivity, Congress has decided to get some work done in the last working week of the year. The House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman held a markup session to consider various measures regarding export controls, restricting the flow of foreign nations’ support to the Taliban, and strengthening sanctions against Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups on Wednesday, December 13th.

On December 12, the United States and the Philippines held the first meeting of a Labor Working Group under the U.S - Philippines Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), which was established by President Biden and President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos in May 2023.  U.S. officials encouraged "increased concrete actions and bilateral engagement" to protect union organizers against violence and harassment, promote workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining, and facilitate dialogue among U.S. and Philippine governments, worker organizations, and employer organizations to inform the objectives of the Labor Working Group.  

Following a year of hearings and demands for reams of disclosure from government and industry, the House Select Committee on China released its work product for 2023.   The 53 page report enumerated recommendations to address Beijing's human rights violations and military modernization, focusing on halting the genocide of the Uyghur population and curtailing profits from forced Uyghur labor. Additionally, it aims to build a more credible deterrent in the Taiwan Strait. 

"Don't try to bullshit a bullshitter," admonished Chairman Brian Mast (R-FL), as Assistant Commerce Secretary for Export Administration Thea Kendler responded to his subcommittee's questions on decision making in the Bureau of Industry and Security. Observers who thought  Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing "Reviewing the Bureau of Industry and Security, Part II: U.S. Export Controls in an Era of Strategic Competition," with Ms. Kendler and Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matt Axelrod would inform the conversation on enforcement priorities and resources may have been disappointed December 12, as the committee's questioning centered on a deal removing China's Ministry of Public Security’s Institute of Forensic Science (IFS) from the entity list.

The Bureau of Industry and Security released a beta version of its new website in December, making changes to functionality and user experience.

U.S. Commerce Department Secretary Gina Raimondo will travel to Brasilia, Brazil the week of Dec. 11.

Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the State Departemnt announced sanctions on over 100 entities and individuals including those engaged in sanctions evasion in numerous third countries, complicit in furthering Russia’s ability to wage its war against Ukraine, and responsible for bolstering Russia’s future energy production and export capacity. The December 11 action highlights Russia’s utilization of Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), as well as the use of complex transnational networks and third-country cut-outs, to acquire much-needed technology and equipment for its war economy.

The U.S. Treasury on December 11 slapped sanctions on a former Afghan official, his son, and related entities, accusing them of misappropriating millions of dollars of funds provided by U.S. government contracts. The sanctions statement cited former Afghan parliament speaker Mir Rahman Rahmani and his son Ajmal Rahmani. "Through their Afghan companies, the Rahmanis perpetrated a complex procurement corruption scheme resulting in the misappropriation of millions of dollars from U.S. Government-funded contracts that supported Afghan security forces," it said, adding that other family members were also designated.

The European Council and the Parliament have reached a provisional agreement on creating a new European authority for countering money laundering and financing of terrorism (AMLA) - the centrepiece of the anti-money laundering package, which aims to protect EU citizens and the EU's financial system against money laundering and terrorist financing. AMLA will have direct and indirect supervisory powers over high-risk obliged entities in the financial sector. In addition to supervisory powers and in order to ensure compliance, in cases of serious, systematic or repeated breaches of directly applicable requirements, the Authority will impose pecuniary sanctions on the selected obliged entities.

The Council and the European Parliament concluded their negotiations for an EU law which introduces criminal offences and penalties for the violation of EU sanctions. This directive ensures that those who violate or circumvent EU sanctions will be prosecuted.  The law lays down that member states will need to define certain actions as criminal offences.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative has announced that Bryant Trick will serve as the Assistant United States Trade Representative for Europe and the Middle East. Trick had served as the Acting Assistant United States Trade Representative for Europe and the Middle East since September 5, 2023.

The United States announced the successful resolution of the first USMCA facility-specific Rapid Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) petition in the garment sector. The US action comes in response to a petition alleging that workers at an Industrias del Interior garment facility in the state of Aguascalientes, were being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. The Factory sews for US fashion brand Levi Strauss & Co.

Five Federal trade enforcement agencies issued a " Know Your Cargo" announcement to industry Monday, describing best practices for shippers to comply with the current enforcement regime. The Department of Justice, Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations, State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), and Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued the joint compliance note, advising entities in maritime and transportation industries to implement compliance measures against illicit practices, particularly in high-risk areas and cargo types.

A California man was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for conspiring to procure and illegally ship high-end computer servers from the United States to Iran.

US and Vietnam trade officials discussed a range of bilateral economic priorities including on agriculture, labor, intellectual property, digital trade, services, ICT products and the environment. …

The looming threat of a 50% tariff on US whiskey exports to the EU is causing concern among US distillers and policymakers. This potential tariff, an increase from the suspended 25% duty in January …