Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., urged the Trump administration Dec. 29 to release more details on the U.S.-China deal that will transfer ownership of TikTok from China’s ByteDance to American investors (see 2509250064).
The U.S. on Dec. 20 seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela that was "suspected of carrying oil subject to U.S. sanctions," DHS said in a social media post. Secretary Kristi Noem said the U.S. "will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region."
A potential buyer of Russian energy firm Lukoil's international business will need to obtain a separate authorization from the Office of Foreign Assets Control -- aside from the agency's existing general license for the firm -- to complete the sale, OFAC said in a new FAQ this week.
After a visit from five Central Asian presidents, President Donald Trump posted on social media that Uzbekistan will do a combination of purchases of U.S. exports and investments in the U.S. worth almost $35 billion over the next three years. He said these purchases and investments would be in critical minerals, aviation, auto parts, energy and chemicals, infrastructure, agriculture and information technology.
The Treasury Department won’t issue a license to Gunvor Corp. to operate Lukoil’s international energy business in the event of its sale, the agency said on social media last week. “As long as [Russian President Vladimir] Putin continues the senseless killings, the Kremlin’s puppet, Gunvor, will never get a license to operate and profit,” Treasury said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week sanctioned Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego, president of Colombia, for actions that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said have allowed drug cartels and traffickers to "flourish." OFAC also sanctioned Gustavo Petro’s eldest son, Nicolas Fernando Petro Burgos, who is considered to be his political heir; First Lady Veronica del Socorro Alcocer Garcia; and Armando Alberto Benedetti Villaneda, who has been appointed by Petro to multiple high-ranking positions within the Colombian government.
EU and Chinese officials are planning to meet in Brussels in the “coming days” to discuss China’s new export controls over rare earths 2510090021), said Maros Sefcovic, the EU’s trade and economic security commissioner, in an Oct. 21 social media post. Sefcovic said Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao will travel to Europe, and the EU hopes to “find urgent solutions on export controls.”
President Donald Trump posted on social media that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a long, "very productive" phone call on Oct. 16. In addition to talking about the ceasefire in Gaza and the first lady's efforts to get Ukrainian children held in Russia or Russia-occupied Ukraine back to their parents in free Ukraine, "we also spent a great deal of time talking about Trade between Russia and the United States when the War with Ukraine is over," he wrote.
President Donald Trump, on his way to Israel, softened his message on tariffs on Chinese goods. When asked if imposing those tariffs was still the plan, he said, "Right now it is. Let's see what happens. November 1st is an eternity."
President Donald Trump reacted angrily to China's plan to expand export restrictions, including when rare earths are in products made abroad (see 2510090021. In a social media post that seemed to trigger a 2.7% drop in the S&P 500, he wrote, "Dependent on what China says about the hostile 'order' that they have just put out, I will be forced, as President of the United States of America, to financially counter their move. For every Element that they have been able to monopolize, we have two."