Polish authorities arrested four Polish citizens and one Russian citizen for allegedly illegally importing Russian and Belarusian birch plywood in violation of sanctions, the country's Ministry of Finance said Dec. 29, according to an unofficial translation. The ministry said the plywood was imported into Poland "under false declarations of country of origin -- Kazakhstan and Turkey -- to allow for legal trade within the" EU.
China on Dec. 26 sanctioned 20 U.S. defense firms and 10 executives in response to the State Department's approval of a host of arms sales to Taiwan earlier this month (see 2512180008). The designations target several major defense contractors, their subsidiaries and their senior employees, including Northrop Grumman Systems, L3 Harris Marine Services, Boeing, Sierra Technical Services, Red Cat Holdings and others. The sanctions block their assets in China and prohibit them from carrying out transactions with people or companies in China.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has withdrawn a final rule from interagency review that was set to make "revisions" to the Export Administration Regulations for "certain rare earth minerals and strategic metals." The agency sent the rule for interagency review July 10 and it was withdrawn Dec. 22.
The State Department is finalizing and making several changes to a 2024 AUKUS rule that created an exemption for defense trade among the U.S., Australia and the U.K., including one change that will create a new and separate exemption for exports to support the armed forces of the three nations. The agency also used the final rule to respond to a host of public comments from the 2024 change, declining several recommendations to limit the scope of the Excluded Technology List and providing more guidance about how the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls treats expedited licensing, who qualifies as an authorized user, and more.
Beijing last week criticized the Dec. 20 U.S. seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela (see 2512220044), calling it arbitrary and a violation of international law. "China stands against unilateral illicit sanctions that lack basis in international law or authorization of the UN Security Council, and against any move that violates the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, infringes upon other countries’ sovereignty and security, and constitutes unilateralism and bullying," a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in response to a reporter's question during a regular press conference. "Venezuela has the right to independently develop mutually beneficial cooperation with other countries. We believe Venezuela’s position of defending its legitimate rights and interests has the understanding and support of the international community."
Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, led a group of 27 congressional Democrats in urging the Commerce Department’s Office of Inspector General on Dec. 17 to investigate whether Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has engaged in a conflict of interest by advocating for AI data center projects that reportedly benefit his family business, financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald.
Reps. Martin Stutzman, R-Ind., and Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., led more than 100 House Republicans Dec. 19 in calling for increased oversight of Syria following the repeal of a sanctions law targeting that country. The lawmakers said they want to ensure that Syria’s new government protects the country’s religious and ethnic minorities.
Sens. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., announced Dec. 21 that they have introduced a bill to close a “loophole” that has allowed China to use cloud service providers to access advanced U.S. chips remotely.
The Bureau of Industry and Security needs to be brought into the U.S. intelligence community and receive a boost in staff and resources to better manage its expanding workload, two commissioners with the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said.
The Council of the European Union on Dec. 22 renewed until July 31 its sanctions on Russia for its war in Ukraine. The measures consist of a broad array of sectoral restrictions, including sanctions on "trade, finance, energy, technology and dual-use goods, industry, transport and luxury goods," the council said. They also include a ban on the import or transfer of seaborne crude oil and petroleum products from Russia to the EU, the removal of many Russian banks from SWIFT and the suspension of broadcasting activities in the EU of various "Kremlin-backed disinformation outlets."