The House Republican Study Committee unveiled a package of sanctions bills April 1 aimed at backing the Trump administration’s efforts to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons and supporting terrorism.
Former Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to China, said April 3 that he will try to “increase the dialogue pace” on U.S.-China trade, including on agricultural products, if he’s confirmed.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said April 2 that he will be disappointed if the Trump administration reaches a deal with China’s ByteDance that leaves the company in control of TikTok.
The Treasury Department’s recent sanctioning of a Chinese oil refinery for buying and refining Iranian crude (see 2503200014) was a "great first step" but should be expanded to other refineries to ensure Tehran's energy revenue is significantly reduced, a researcher told a congressional panel April 1.
Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., introduced a bill April 1 to sanction Russia and its supporters if Moscow refuses to negotiate a peace agreement with Ukraine in good faith or undermines Ukraine’s sovereignty after a peace deal is reached.
Several lawmakers welcomed the State Department’s March 31 announcement that it is sanctioning six Hong Kong government and police officials who it said have helped to implement the territory's repressive national security law (see 2503310041).
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., said March 31 that they may pursue sanctions if the U.N. Human Rights Council (HRC) creates a new mechanism to investigate Israel.
Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., plans to reintroduce a bill that would impose property-blocking sanctions on foreign persons who undermine the 1995 peace agreement that ended the Bosnian War, a spokesperson said in an e-mail March 25. The Upholding the Dayton Peace Agreement Through Sanctions Act is aimed at pro-secession Bosnian Serb leaders. The House passed the bill by a wide margin in the last Congress (see 2503140019).
Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, introduced a resolution March 27 that would form a bipartisan House committee to develop policy recommendations to counter Mexican drug cartels.
House Select Committee on China ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., and Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., urged the Trump administration March 31 to investigate whether China’s Yantai iRay Technology Co. Ltd. is evading U.S. sanctions by selling its thermal imaging products in the U.S. through subsidiaries and other affiliated entities.