A West Virginia man pleaded guilty today to a federal felony offense for committing an export fraud violation, according to court documents and statements made during the hearing. Rana Zeeshan Tanveer, of Beckley, admitted in his plea agreement that he knowingly submitted false export valuations for certain items he shipped to Pakistan.

The Justice Department has secured a settlement agreement with Micron Technology Inc. a manufacturer of semiconductor memory and storage products based in Boise, Idaho. The settlement resolves the department’s determination that Micron violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by discriminating against a U.S. citizen when it failed to hire him for a position and instead hired a temporary visa worker.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced today that it has modified import restrictions against a group of companies, jointly known as Smart Glove, after the companies successfully demonstrated their products are no longer produced with forced labor.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has settled violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) with Frank's International, a global oil services company. Between January 2008 and October 2014, Frank's paid commissions to a sales agent in Angola, knowing there was a high probability the agent would use the funds to bribe Angolan government officials on behalf of the company.

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has released the 2023 Special 301 Report on the adequacy and effectiveness of U.S. trading partners’ intellectual property (IP) rights protection …

The Materials and Equipment Technical Advisory Committee will meet on May 11, 2023, 10:00 a.m., The Transportation and Related Equipment Technical Advisory Committee will meet on May 10, 2023, 9:30 a.m.

London-based tobacco giant, British American Tobacco p.l.c. (BAT), has agreed to pay more than $600 million to settle civil charges related to alleged violations of the North Korea and Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators Sanctions Regulations, according to a statements from the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Justice Department.

Treasury Under Secretary Brian Nelson addressed a group of business leaders at the American Chamber of Commerce Austria Roundtable today, highlighting the success of the sanctions and export controls. He assured the audience that business considerations were taken into the sanctions regime.

First-year Democrats are supporting the Administration’s decision to negotiate trade deals that are not focused on cutting tariffs, like the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. In a letter to President Biden, the freshmen Democrats endorsed the Administration’s “focus on setting the rules of commerce rather than cutting the few remaining US tariffs.”

A World Trade Organization (WTO) panel ruled in favor of the European Union, Japan, and Taiwan on Monday, rejecting India's tech tariffs after a trade dispute. The panel determined that India failed to implement its scheduled tariff commitments on certain electronic products under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994.

As the World Trade Organization's (WTO) 13th ministerial meeting in Abu Dhabi approaches, members remain divided on key deliverables. The United States is seeking informal discussions on the contentious issue of dispute settlement body (DSB) reform instead of text-based negotiations. Meanwhile, countries such as China, the European Union, Indonesia, and others are pressing for text-based negotiations after July, sources familiar with the discussions said.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen outlined the United States' economic approach to China, emphasizing the importance of protecting national security interests, fostering healthy economic competition, and seeking cooperation on global challenges. She indicated the White House is "considering a program to restrict certain U.S. outbound investments in specific sensitive technologies with significant national security implications," the "reverse CFIUS" regime Washington has been anticipating.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on one individual and six entities involved in a sanctions evasion network. This network facilitated Iran's procurement of electronic components for its military programs, including those used in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The European Union (EU) imposed a ban on seaborne imports of Russian crude oil in response to the invasion of Ukraine, setting a price cap of USD60 for Russian crude oil. The effectiveness of these sanctions is being undermined by five "laundromat" countries: China, India, Turkey, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Singapore, according to a recent report by Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. 

Capitol Hill was alive with the sound of smashing China this week.  The Congressional Executive Commission on China held an update on repression in the Uyghur region, and members of the Committee on Ways and Means shifted their focus from Tax Day to the Red Menace. Not to be left behind, the House Select Committee on the CCP, led by Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher wargamed the invasion of Taiwan.

Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has imposed a $300 million civil penalty on Seagate Technology LLC and its Singapore subsidiary for alleged violations of U.S. export controls related to selling hard disk drives (HDDs) to Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. This penalty is the largest standalone administrative penalty in BIS history and includes a multi-year audit requirement and a five-year suspended Denial Order.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is proposing to revise CBP Form 7501, Entry Summary, by adding new required data fields for certain Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) classifications of steel and aluminum imports.

Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement Matt Axelrod issued an update to prior guidance on voluntary self-disclosure of possible violations of Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and disclosures about possible EAR violations by others.    The most significant change is that while self-disclosure continues to be considered a mitigating factor, the policy now clarifies that deliberate non-disclosure of significant violations will be considered an aggravating factor, increasing potential penalties.

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected Turkey's state-owned Halkbank's claim that it is protected under the 1976 Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), which limits the jurisdiction of American courts over lawsuits against foreign countries. The court ruled that the FSIA does not provide foreign states and their instrumentalities with immunity from criminal proceedings, according to conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Two Iran-controlled trading firms pleaded guilty to sanctions evasion in support of Iran's ballistic missile program.  Punishment included a small fine and "corporate probation."