The European Commission is pushing for new import fees and customs controls on certain low-value e-commerce imports that it said are unsafe, counterfeit or don’t meet other EU product standards. The controls could target products from online marketplaces such as AliExpess, Amazon, Shein and Temu, the commission said, adding that those companies could be liable for the sale of unsafe products on their platforms.
A new national security memorandum signed this week by President Donald Trump orders U.S. agencies to pursue a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran to stop the country from developing nuclear weapons and supporting terrorism (see 2502040073). It calls on the U.S. to impose new sanctions against the country while stepping up enforcement and possibly revoke any general license or guidance document that gives “Iran or any of its terror proxies any degree of economic or financial relief.”
The Senate Commerce Committee voted, 16-12, Feb. 5 to advance President Donald Trump’s choice of Howard Lutnick to be commerce secretary, sending the nomination to the full Senate for its consideration. The vote came days after Lutnick promised to scrutinize U.S. export controls on advanced artificial intelligence chips, telling lawmakers in recently published comments that a review of the restrictions will be “a top priority” if he’s confirmed.
The U.K. should mirror the enforcement practices of U.S. agencies by publicizing the details of sanctions and export control penalties, which would help British companies better comply with trade restrictions, industry officials and a researcher told U.K. lawmakers this week. The U.K. should sharply raise penalties on businesses that violate sanctions to convince industry to invest more heavily in trade compliance, the researcher said.
Companies should expect Trump administration to take an increasingly aggressive stance on China-related inbound and outbound investment restrictions, especially because of the makeup of President Donald Trump’s team and key Cabinet officials, a former Treasury Department official and trade consultant said.
U.S. export controls are increasingly trending toward unilateral, extraterritorial restrictions as opposed to multilateral ones, and that could continue under the administration of President Donald Trump, said Jeannette Chu, vice president for national security policy at the National Foreign Trade Council.
The European Commission last week published a first-of-its-kind report on dual-use export control licensing patterns that it says will give companies, governments and the public a “better understanding of how export controls are applied” within the bloc.
President Donald Trump’s efforts to slash the federal workforce are unlikely to target the Bureau of Industry and Security, which is already dealing with employee shortages as it carries out U.S. export control policy, a former senior BIS official said.
Companies should consider carrying out extra due diligence when vetting customers that could have connections to address-only listings on the Entity List, a trade lawyer and former Bureau of Industry and Security official said.
European Parliament members this week probed the EU’s new trade commissioner about how he’s handling President Donald Trump’s tariff threats, with some members calling on the EU to prepare for retaliation.