The State Department approved two possible military sales, to Australia and Italy, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said this week.

The State Department approved a possible $215 million military sale to the Netherlands, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said last week. The sale includes air-to-ground missiles and related equipment, and the principal contractor will be Lockheed Martin.

The Defense Department is reviewing whether the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) security partnership that began under the Biden administration is aligned with President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda, a defense spokesperson said June 13.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking public comments on an information collection for the agency’s surveys and assessments of U.S. industrial sectors and technologies. The survey data provides "needed information to benchmark industry performance and raise awareness of diminishing manufacturing capabilities,” BIS said in a Federal Register notice. Comments are due Aug. 12.

The State Department approved a possible $325 million military sale to Kuwait, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said this week. The sale includes "M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank System Sustainment Support and related equipment," and the principal contractor will be General Dynamics Land System.

Taiwanese Minister of Economic Affairs Jyh-Huei Kuo visited Texas last month to see two semiconductor facilities and discuss "enhancing" U.S.-Taiwan trade relations, Taiwan's International Trade Administration said last week. Kuo visited the opening of GlobalWafers’ new plant in Sherman, Texas, and traveled to Houston to visit Foxconn’s server plant, where he also hosted business roundtables with Houston-based Taiwanese business leaders.

The Energy Department last week approved a final authorization for liquefied natural gas exports to non-free trade agreement countries from the Port Arthur LNG Phase II energy project in Texas. The agency said this is the Trump administration's first final LNG export approval "and marks another step in restoring regular order to LNG export permitting -- reversing the previous administration’s pause and delivering on the president’s pledge to unleash American energy." Once completed in 2027, Port Arthur LNG Phase II is projected to export 1.91 billion cubic feet per day, the Energy Department said.

The International Trade Commission is investigating the state of the nonfat milk solids exporting industry in the U.S. and other major supplier nations, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and certain EU member states, the commission said last week. The ITC said it will analyze the “export competitiveness” of those industries and prepare a public report on export trends, a comparison of the “competitive strengths and weaknesses” of producers and exporters in those countries, and more. The investigation, requested by the U.S. trade representative, will focus on the 2020-2024 period. The ITC will hold a public hearing on the investigation on July 28 and is accepting written comments by Oct. 14. It expects to submit its report to USTR by March 23, 2026.

The State Department approved a possible $296 million military sale to Estonia, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said last week. The sale includes Javelin missiles and related equipment, and the principal contractors will be the Javelin Joint Venture between RTX and Lockheed Martin.

The Consolidated Screening List -- the comprehensive list of entities and people subject to U.S. export controls and other trade restrictions -- has recently been experiencing issues and isn't up to date, the Commerce Department said in a notice on its website last week. While the list's search engine still works, "it has not been updating consistently from the source files since April 21, 2025."