The Biden administration should increase sanctions on the Nicolas Maduro regime in Venezuela and convince European allies to do the same, a group of Senate Republicans said in a June 16 letter to the White House. The lawmakers, including several on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, criticized the White House’s attempts to intervene in negotiations between the Maduro regime and the U.S.-backed opposition party led by Juan Guaido, calling it a “flawed and incoherent policy” and only put the U.S. at the “center of Venezuelan political disputes.” The U.S. in May said it was preparing to ease some sanctions against Venezuela to encourage negotiations between the two parties (see 2205170074).

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said that he wants to get the conference negotiations done for the China package, because the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) has "some important trade aspects."

A new bill introduced by Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., would amend U.S. export regulations to allow Taiwan to more quickly import military goods and defend itself against a potential invasion by China. The text of the Taiwan Weapons Exports Act of 2022 (see 2206150013), released last week, said the bill would add Taiwan to Country Group A:5 under the Export Administration Regulations, which would expedite certain exports of “critical asymmetric defensive capabilities” to Taiwan. The addition of Taiwan to the country group would make it easier for it to import certain items through License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization, the bill said, including “undersea sensors, naval mines, man-portable air defense systems and unmanned aerial vehicles.”

The Ocean Shipping Reform Act, which would punish carriers who reject exports from West Coast ports if the Federal Maritime Commission deems those decisions as unreasonable, was signed into law June 16. The FMC is directed to begin a rulemaking on the matter. The law also puts the burden of proof on the reasonableness of demurrage and detention fees on ocean carriers, rather than the parties who were charged the fees.

Florida Republican Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott introduced a bill this week that would ban exports of crude and refined oil, as well as certain “petroleum products,” to China. Rubio said it’s “unacceptable” that the U.S. is exporting oil to China as gas prices rise across America. “We need to increase American oil production and give priority to domestic consumers,” Rubio said, “not send oil to a genocidal regime half a world away.” Scott said the U.S. exported nearly 52 million barrels of oil and petroleum to China in the first three months of 2022. “Americans must come before sales to Communist China,” he said.

Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., introduced a bill June 13 that would add Taiwan to Country Group A:5 under the Export Administration Regulations. The bill would seek to add Taiwan to the country group specifically “for purposes” of License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization, which authorizes certain exports, reexports and in-country transfers for items that would normally require a license. The bill's full text wasn’t immediately released.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told an audience at the American Association of Exporters and Importers conference June 15 that his discussion draft of a Customs modernization bill elicited some consternation, but that it was shared because he was trying to figure out "how do we get stakeholders in a good place so that we can have a customs modernization package?"

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has crafted a new proposal for an outbound investment screening mechanism that will ensure the U.S. is “not ceding its manufacturing power in industries critical to our economic and national security.” The “refined proposal,” negotiated during the congressional conference for the Bipartisan Innovation Act, will be “robust” but also will address industry concerns, said the lawmakers, including Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Bob Casey, D-Pa., who originally proposed a version of the bill last year (see 2201140038). “We look forward to meaningful engagement in writing from stakeholders as we work to secure this bill in the conference report,” the lawmakers said.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week approved a bill that would authorize U.S. sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act against anyone who helps Iran acquire unmanned drones or their parts. The bill was overwhelmingly passed by the House in April (see 2204280007).

President Joe Biden, speaking at the Port of Los Angeles, praised the collaborative work of port officials and workers and the government to break through logjams, and partly blamed foreign-owned shipping companies for rising prices.