The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has expanded on its May 2025 Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking public comment on measures to bolster the integrity of its equipment authorization program. The proposal outlines expanded restrictions on participation by entities affiliated with foreign adversaries and contemplates increased domestic testing requirements.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a $11.8 million settlement with Interactive Brokers LLC (IB) to resolve potential civil liability for 12,367 apparent violations of multiple U.S. sanctions programs committed between 2016 and 2024. IB, a global electronic broker-dealer, provided brokerage and investment services to individuals in Iran, Cuba, Syria, and Crimea, processed transactions involving sanctioned Russian, Venezuelan, and Syrian persons, and enabled prohibited investments and securities trades related to Chinese military-linked entities and Russian financial institutions.
In a sweeping 12-page letter backed by three pages of footnotes and appendices, House China Hawks urged FBI Director Kashyap Patel to terminate the Bureau’s certification of biometric devices produced by Chinese firms linked to the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) military and surveillance apparatus.
The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) is undergoing sweeping organizational and technological changes that signal a recalibrated approach to personnel vetting and security services under the Trump administration. Now the agency is losing its chief.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a proposed rule to modernize U.S. regulations governing deep seabed mining under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA), marking the first major revision to the licensing process since the 1980s. The proposed changes, scheduled for publication in the Federal Register, include a streamlined application process and updated technical requirements reflecting decades of technological advancement.
The European Commission launched its comprehensive Quantum Strategy on July 2, 2025, committing €50 million to build a "resilient, sovereign quantum ecosystem" across five priority areas including research, infrastructure, ecosystem strengthening, defense applications, and workforce development.
BIS continues its migration to the bis.gov website, announcing revisions to the notifications portal, guidance and forms access.
The bipartisian Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 is expected to reach the Senate Floor in the coming weeks, as President Trump continues to push to water down key enforcement provisions of the bill.
An Iranian national and U.S. lawful permanent resident has been arrested on a four-count federal indictment charging him with unlawfully exporting electronics used in railway signaling and telecommunications systems from the United States to Iran, in violation the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR).
President Trump has issued an executive order prohibiting the 2020 acquisition of Jupiter Systems, LLC by Suirui International Co., Limited, a Hong Kong-based firm majority-owned by a Chinese entity. Jupiter Systems is a maker of collaborative visualization and display wall solutions.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Friday the partial termination of a shipbuilding contract with Eastern Shipbuilding Group for the U.S. Coast Guard’s Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) program, citing performance delays and financial inefficiencies.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee’s (HFAC) Foreign Arms Sales Taskforce has released an updated summary of key legislative proposals under consideration to reform and accelerate the U.S. foreign military sales (FMS) and export control system. Remaining to be seen is whether HFAC Chairman Brian Mast (FL) has the temperament and operational discipline to bring the legislation to markup and referral to vote by the House.
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) Board of Directors yesterday approved transactions for a total of more than $1.4 billion to support the export of aircraft and spare propulsion equipment to Turkish Airlines and to provide a subsidized credit line for Swiss commodity trading giant Trafigura.
At a WITA-hosted panel Friday, former senior U.S. trade officials described an increasingly chaotic and opaque landscape for global trading partners navigating the Trump administration’s tariff policy. Former Assistant USTRs Wendy Cutler, Mark Linscott, Daniel Mullaney, and policy advisor Michael Smart outlined a central and unresolved problem: the uncertain role and treatment of Section 232 tariffs in current negotiations.
President Trump said Wednesday he will hit Brazil with a 50 percent “reciprocal” tariff, partly out of anger over the criminal prosecution of former Brazilian President Bolsonaro.
The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, in partnership with the U.S. Postal Service, has launched a new Whistleblower Rewards Program to encourage individuals to report postal-related antitrust violations.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a settlement deal topping $1.45 million with Harman International Industries, Inc., a U.S.-based audio and electronics subsidiary of Samsung, to resolve apparent violations of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR).
As part of its newly released National Farm Security Action Plan, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a series of measures to limit foreign ownership of American farmland, citing national security concerns.
Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, the owner of Myrtle Beach Safari and a figure featured in a popular Netflix documentary, was sentenced to 12 months in federal prison for conspiring to violate the Lacey Act and laundering over $500,000. The charges stem from the illegal sale of endangered wildlife — including chimpanzees, lions, cheetahs, and tigers — and laundering funds believed to be tied to migrant smuggling.
The international humanitarian sector is entering a period of acute contraction as the Trump administration signals a retreat from longstanding U.S. support for global aid operations. While needs reach historic levels — with over 122 million people forcibly displaced — the world’s major relief agencies are warning of catastrophic funding shortfalls.
