Beijing this week announced a host of new export license requirements for shipments of rare earths, superhard materials and related equipment, including new rules to restrict overseas exports if they contain certain levels of Chinese-origin materials. The country’s Ministry of Commerce also added more than a dozen companies to its Unreliable Entity List for arms sales to Taiwan or for other actions that it said hurt Chinese companies or the country’s “sovereignty” or security.
House lawmakers have proposed dozens of export control-, sanctions- and foreign investment-related amendments to their chamber’s version of the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), including measures aimed at China, Russia and Turkey.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce in Brazil both are urging the Brazilian government and the U.S. government to negotiate so that 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods don't come to pass.
The U.S. government needs more exemptions for close allies to quickly buy controlled defense items and weapons, both under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the Foreign Military Sales program, witnesses and lawmakers said during a congressional hearing on defense exports last week. Without significant ITAR and FMS reform, several lawmakers said they fear more countries will source more of their defense purchases from other countries, including potentially China.
Amid swirling reports that China is considering exemptions from tariffs on some critical U.S. goods, an industry expert said that these moves should not be read as a broader shift in the trade war between the two countries.
China and Canada announced new retaliatory trade restrictions against the U.S. -- and Mexico announced plans to soon release its own set of countermeasures -- after President Donald Trump's administration on March 4 increased tariffs on goods from all three countries. Industry associations said the counter-duties could damage a range of American export industries, including shippers of agricultural products, spirits and other commercial goods.
Companies in the Czech Republic plan to ask the Bureau of Industry and Security to loosen restrictions on U.S. exports of advanced artificial intelligence chips that were put in place as part of a BIS rule in January that tightened controls for nations around the world.
President Donald Trump's recent executive order halting prosecutions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act likely won't change the behavior of many companies, given the risk of prosecution globally or in the U.S. after Trump leaves office, lawyers said.
A business group representing American interests in China cites rising trade protectionism, policy uncertainties and escalating geopolitical tensions as headwinds faced by pro-American companies operating in China, according to a recent annual survey of the group's members.
The newly released FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) calls for the executive branch to take several actions related to export controls, including a review of China’s efforts to evade U.S. restrictions, and an assessment of Japan’s possible participation in the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) security partnership.