A bipartisan Senate bill unveiled this week could require the U.S. to impose “robust” human rights sanctions against criminal groups in Haiti. The Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act of 2022, sponsored by Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J.; Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; and Tim Kaine, D-Va., would lead to the imposition of Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act sanctions on Haitian gang leaders and the “political and economic elites that support their activities.” The bill also would require the administration to report on gang violence in Haiti and their ties to members of the country's elite.
The Biden administration should cripple Huawei’s plans to build a semiconductor foundry in Shenzhen through additional export controls, five Republican senators said in a recent letter to the White House. They said Huawei is using Pengxinwei (PXW) IC Manufacturing -- a startup launched by a former Huawei executive, Bloomberg reported -- to build a new chip foundry in a bid to evade U.S. trade restrictions. The letter was signed by Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, both of Tennessee, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida.
The Biden administration should impose sanctions on people in Ethiopia responsible for war crimes, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, each said in recent days. The two lawmakers both pointed to a recent escalation in violence in the country and said those responsible should be held accountable.
Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Mayra Flores, R-Texas, introduced a bill to make Plattsburgh International Airport and Valley International Airport official ports of entry. Currently, these airports pay for CBP's cargo examinations, immigration inspections and the like.
The top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said the administration has "a strong case for what they're doing" in restricting U.S. technology that aids the Chinese semiconductor industry (see 2210070049), but he questions how effective it will be unless the Netherlands and Japan go along.
A measure that would impose sanctions on people or companies involved in Russian gold trade could pass as part of a package with the Senate's fiscal year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. The measure, included as an amendment, would sanction people that “knowingly participated in a significant transaction” involving the “sale, supply, or transfer” of gold to or from Russia and the Russian government or transactions that “otherwise involved gold in which the Government of the Russian Federation had any interest.” The entire package of 75 amendments will be decided with one vote.
A new bill in the Senate and House could impose one-year bans on the export of certain weapons and defense items to Saudi Arabia. The bill, announced this week by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., would suspend all new license applications for exports of “any defense articles proposed or submitted to Congress” pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act, including “direct munitions containers; weapon support and support equipment; spare and repair parts; United States Government and contractor engineering, technical and logistical support services; and other related elements of logistical and program support.”
The U.S. shouldn’t ease oil sanctions and other trade restrictions against Venezuela, which would only benefit a “criminal network known for pretending to negotiate while extorting for sanctions relief,” Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, and Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said last week. The two lawmakers said they are “deeply troubled” by reports that the Biden administration is considering lifting some sanctions to convince the Nicolas Maduro regime to allow free and fair presidential elections in 2024 (see 2210060014).
Big Tech’s digital trade agenda “threatens” consumer privacy, worker safety and anti-disinformation efforts, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., wrote to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo Oct. 6. They requested information about a “revolving door” of high-level hiring between the Commerce Department and Big Tech and the potential impact on global digital trade negotiations. They said the unethical practice of hiring high-level staff from tech and allowing them to influence trade deals behind closed doors hurts workers and consumers. They cited potential impacts on negotiations for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.
The top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and 36 other House Republicans are calling on the administration to include Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, to expeditiously finalize provisions in the U.S.-Taiwan Trade and Investment Framework, and to negotiate a free trade agreement with Taiwan as soon as possible. The bill, introduced Sept. 28, is called the Taiwan Policy Act. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas said, "Deterrence is key to stopping the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] from provoking a conflict that would seriously harm U.S. national security.”