The Department of Commerce has announced a funding opportunity through the 2023 Market Development Cooperator Program (MDCP) to support projects aimed at generating U.S. exports, addressing trade barriers, enhancing industry competitiveness, and creating American jobs. The program will provide up to $300,000 per project to eligible non-profit industry groups and other entities.

The G7 Enforcement Coordination Mechanism met on Wednesday to discuss ways to tighten the sanctions and export controls against Russia.  Action items were prepared for consideration by G7 Leadership during next mont's summit in Canada.

U.S. Commercial Service will host a number of export sessions during the week of May 1-5, 2023. The sessions, led by both private and public sector experts, will feature tradecraft programs and industry focused opportunities

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned three individuals for providing support to North Korea through illicit financing and malicious cyber activity.

The State Department has released its annual report to Congress on direct commercial sales authorizations for fiscal year 2022.

Two Florida men have been arrested in a scheme to launder funds for the fugitive "Gas King of Ukraine," through a Florida metals service center.

The US Department of State is removing certain high-energy storage capacitors from the United States Munitions List (USML) as they are widely available internationally and do not provide a critical military or intelligence advantage.

Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on four senior officials of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence Organization (IRGC-IO) in a groundbreaking move. In addition to the action against Iran, OFAC has implemented the State Department's designation of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) for its involvement in the wrongful detention of U.S. nationals abroad.

The Timber Interdiction Membership Board and Enforcement Resource (TIMBER) Working Group, a new interagency collaboration, was announced at the TIMBER Trafficking Enforcement Roundtable April 19.

A New York attorney has pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit international money laundering in connection to maintaining properties in the U.S. owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg. The attorney, Robert Wise of Pelham, New York, admitted to taking part in a scheme that funneled approximately $3.8 million in U.S. dollars to six real properties, valued at around $75 million, on behalf of Vekselberg.

World military spending grew for the eighth consecutive year in 2022, reaching a new high of $2240 billion, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The top three spenders, the United States, China, and Russia, accounted for 56% of the global total.

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.

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 …

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.

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. 

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.

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.