In an effort to further isolate the Russian and Belarus military-industrial complex,  the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is designating 12 entities and 10 individuals pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14038,  The individuals and entities OFAC is targeting include six revenue-generating state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and one entity and five individuals involved in facilitating transactions for a U.S.-designated major Belarusian defense sector enterprise.

Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen met with the Economic Working Group (EWG) and Financial Working Group (FWG) on April 16. Chian Daily, a party organ, cited Liu Ying, a researcher at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies of Renmin University of China, as saying the meeting was "of great significance in delivering a positive signal that China-US economic and financial ties are steadily recovering."

During thier biennial meeting in  in Washington, DC ministers of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) reaffirmed their commitment to combat financial crime, and fully support the FATF as the standard-setter for preventing and combatting money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (AML/CFT/CPF). Ministers highlighted the threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) to international peace and security.

The chair for the Doha fisheries subsidies negotiations Ambassador Einar Gunnarsson of Iceland issued two documents for members on Friday to mull over some difficult issues on which ministers failed …

The USTR has requested a Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) panel under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to resolve a labor dispute at call center operator Atento Servicios, S.A. de C.V. .    At the conclusion of its 45-day review period, Mexico found a denial of rights had existed, but determined that Atento Servicios had taken the necessary actions to remediate the denial of rights during Mexico’s review period. The United States disagrees with this determination and is requesting establishment of an RRM panel to review the situation.

U.S. Department of Commerce and TSMC Arizona  a subsidiary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC), have signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT) to provide up to $6.6 billion in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act.

Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Chair Erica Y. Williams announced a record $25 million fine sanctioning KPMG Netherlands for widespread improper answer sharing and the firm's multiple misrepresentations about its knowledge of the misconduct.

The Administration is calling on Congress to give it additional tools to prevent terrorist groups and other malign actors from using crypto-currencies to circumvent US sanctions. Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo told the Senate Banking Committee last week that the Administration needs “additional tools to protect the American people.”

In a joint action with UK officials, the Treasury Department issued two new prohibitions to disrupt the revenue that Russia earns from its export of aluminum, copper, and nickel.  This new action prohibits the import of Russian-origin aluminum, copper, and nickel into the US and UK, and limits the use of Russian-origin aluminum, copper, and nickel on global metal exchanges and in over-the-counter derivatives trading.

Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added 11 entities to the Entity List .Five of the eleven entities are Russian and PRC entities were added for actions related to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Of these, four are part of a procurement network for components for UAV applications. These components are used to develop and produce Shahed-series UAVs which have been used by Iran to attack oil tankers in the Middle East and by Russia in Ukraine.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel at all U.S. ports of entry will detain work gloves manufactured by Shanghai Select Safety Products Company, Limited and its two subsidiaries.. CBP issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) against Shanghai Select Safety Products Company, Limited and its two subsidiaries Nantong and HK, based on information that reasonably indicates the use of convict labor in violation of 19 U.S.C. § 1307 in the production of that merchandise.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is taking action against Hamas, targeting Gaza- and Lebanon-based leaders of the terrorist group’s offensive cyber and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations. Concurrent with this action, the European Union is imposing sanctions targeting Hamas. 

Friday the Council of the European Union adopted a law covering EU-wide minimum rules for the prosecution of violation or circumvention of EU sanctions in member states. Certain actions will now be considered criminal offences in all member states, for example helping to bypass a travel ban, trading in sanctioned goods or performing prohibited financial activities. Inciting, aiding and abetting these offences can also be penalised. 

Dronemaker General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems, have been sanctioned by the Chinese government for their sales to the government of Taiwan.    Last September China sanctioned Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin  on the same grounds. Missing from either announcement was Boeing, Taipei’s supplier of Harpoon anti-ship missiles.

Airline industry and labor groups are calling for restrictions on Chinese Airline flights to the US, citing unfair competition. The groups have asked for a "pause" to additional passenger flights between the United States and China "until U.S. workers and businesses are guaranteed equality of access in the marketplace, free from the existing harmful anti-competitive policies of the Chinese government. "

Wednesday Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), introduced bipartisan legislation to bolster the Export Enforcement Coordination Center—an interagency hub for information sharing and coordination among the key agencies responsible for export control enforcement. At a hearing Thursday, officials from Commerce, Justice and Homeland Security were unanimous in their call for resources from Congress.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Department of Commerce is announcing its recruitment of candidates to serve on one of its six Technical Advisory Committees (“TACs”). TAC …

The Treasury Department, as Chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to "enhance certain CFIUS procedures and sharpen its penalty and enforcement authorities." The proposed rule reflects CFIUS’s first substantive update to the mitigation and enforcement provisions of the CFIUS regulations since the enactment and implementation of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018, which amended CFIUS’s governing statute (section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950).

The EXIM Board of Directors of the United States (EXIM) last week approved a $156.6 million loan to Ukrainian Railways to support the potential acquisition of 40 Wabtec diesel locomotives.   This transaction is the first project fully financed by a United States government agency in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began in 2022.

The United States announced two resolutions of labor disputes initiated under the USMCA facility-specific Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) in Mexico last year.   The Turkish owners of the Teklas Automotive hose assembly plant and the Mexican owners of the Draxton automotive casting operations, both in central Mexico,   conducted remediation satisfactory to US officials. USTR has directed the Secretary of the Treasury to resume liquidation of unliquidated entries of goods from the facilities.