Julie Stufft, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be U.S. ambassador to Kazakhstan, said July 29 that she would seek to ensure U.S. companies have an “even playing field” in Kazakhstan so they can invest in the Central Asian country.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced a joint resolution July 28 aimed at blocking the sale of thousands of rifles to the police force overseen by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Sanders accused Ben-Gvir of fomenting violence against Palestinians. The resolution was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The Senate in November and April defeated legislation by Sanders to block billions of dollars in defense exports to Israel (see 2504040001).
House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., said July 28 on social media that he’s “alarmed” that the Trump administration is lifting sanctions on “key people linked to Burma’s military regime,” referring to the country now known as Myanmar.
The Trump administration’s recent designation of three Mexican financial institutions as primary money laundering concerns and several Latin American cartels as foreign terrorists are having a positive effect, a former U.S. official told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee July 23.
Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, introduced a bill July 25 that would prohibit exports of medicine and prosthetic medical devices, such as artificial limbs, to Russia. The ban would stay in place until the State Department certifies to Congress that Russia has ended its military operations in Ukraine and withdrawn its forces. The Medical Supply Sanctions Act was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The Trump administration is considering imposing a terrorist designation on the Gaza-based Popular Resistance Committees, a State Department official said July 23.
Reps. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., and August Pfluger, R-Texas, introduced a bill July 25 that would clarify that ship-to-ship transfers of liquefied natural gas to be used as marine fuel are not considered exports unless conducted in foreign waters.
Sens. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., and Michael Bennet, D-Colo., introduced a bill July 23 that would require the State Department to analyze whether the U.S. should use export controls, sanctions or “other economic restrictions” to discourage other countries from buying Chinese military equipment.
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said July 23 that he plans to reintroduce a bill that seeks to deter a Chinese invasion of Taiwan by threatening to impose “massive sanctions” on China if such an attack were to occur. Sullivan made his comment at a hearing of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which he chairs. Sullivan introduced the bill, the Sanctions Targeting Aggressors of Neighboring Democracies (STAND), in the previous two Congresses (see 2407190039).
Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, took to the Senate floor July 23 to reiterate his call for the U.K., France and Germany to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran for violating its nuclear weapons-related obligations.