The U.S. Department of State has issued a final rule removing Cambodia from the list of prohibited recipients under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) Section 126.1.

A group of Senate Democrats is demanding details on the Treasury Department’s management of the outbound investment screening program.

President Trump said last week he is prepared for a “game two” plan if the Supreme Court rules against his tariffs. “I think it'd be devastating for our country, but I also think that we'll have to develop a ‘game two’ plan. We'll see what happens,” Mr. Trump told reporters.

The U.S. government approved the sale of 20 sniper rifles to the Rio de Janeiro state police special unit Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais (BOPE) in May 2023, despite internal objections from U.S. diplomats that the unit had a problematic human-rights record.   

The Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (MOFCOM) announced on Nov. 5 that it will remove and suspend several trade-control measures imposed on U.S. firms, effective Nov. 10, citing implementation of agreements reached during the recent U.S.–China economic and trade consultations in Kuala Lumpur. 

The arguments Wednesday before the U.S. Supreme Court over the president’s authority to reshape import tariffs in response to international emergencies ranged from rousing questions about Congress’s ability to hold onto its trade mandate to talk of pastries. Here are the moments we’re still talking about.

What began three decades ago as a modest United Nations gathering of a few thousand diplomats has become one of the world’s largest annual diplomatic events. The 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), opening this week in Belém, Brazil, is not only a test of global resolve on climate action but also a defining moment for Brazil’s international standing.

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) lapsed on 30 September 2025 amid the broader government funding impasse, and Congress has not yet coalesced around a vehicle to restore it. The Trump administration has said it would support only a short, essentially “stop-gap” renewal—one year, tied to broader negotiations over Africa policy and market access—which sets a lower ceiling than the long, 10- to 16-year reauthorizations U.S. and African stakeholders had urged earlier in the year. 

The U.S. Treasury Department has removed two senior Syrian figures from its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List, signaling a major shift in sanctions policy toward Damascus. The delistings cover Anas Hasan Khattab and Abu Muhammad al-Jawlani, both formerly tied to jihadist groups and now central to Syria’s transitional government.

The White House has formalized the economic framework reached by Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping during their October 30 summit in South Korea, issuing two companion executive orders that suspend tariff escalations and recalibrate duties linked to China’s role in the global synthetic-opioid trade.

A federal jury in the Western District of New York has convicted a former engineer with Corning, Inc. on multiple counts of economic espionage and theft of trade secrets related to high-powered fiber laser research with defense applications. Ji Wang, sought investment from Chinese government entities to commercialize the stolen technology through China’s “Thousand Talents Plan.”

he anticipated appointment of Nels Nordquist, a former senior economic adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, to a top post at the International Labour Organization (ILO) has sparked unease among staff and diplomats, AFP reported this week.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) called for closer alignment between global trade systems and the Paris Agreement to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy and mobilize financing for climate action. The appeal accompanies UNCTAD’s latest Global Trade Update, released ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) to be held from November 10 to 21 in Belém, Brazil.

Routine, non-emergency license processing remains largely suspended at both the Commerce and State Departments, though each has resumed limited operations. The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) continues enforcement, emergency licensing, and national-security functions with reduced staff, while the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) is cautiously restarting essential export activities.

A group of Republican congressmen  have asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to expand investigations by the Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services (OICTS) into Chinese-linked firms active in critical U.S. industries.

Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation has published new guidance on countering Russian sanctions evasion targeted specifically at businesses operating in the freight and shipping sector.  

As former Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, Alan Estevez has had a front-row seat to many of the technological shifts of the past three decades — and their growing influence on society, governance, and national security. The Export Practitioner spoke to the veteran of both the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Department of Defense about the lengthy national security career he says he “stumbled” into, and some of the more recent shake-ups within the Bureau of Industry and Security. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) has released a report warning that some Chinese companies operating in the United States deliberately downplay or disguise their ties to the People’s Republic of China to gain access to U.S. markets, talent, intellectual property, and even federal and state subsidies.

President Donald Trump met with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo this week to advance previously announced bilateral economic initiatives. The visit resulted in two signed agreements: a U.S.–Japan Critical Minerals Framework and a framework agreement outlining Japanese public and private investment in the United States.

House lawmakers have reintroduced legislation aimed at ensuring U.S. companies receive priority access to advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips, reviving a proposal that previously failed to advance as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).