The U.S. this week sanctioned Iranian Minister of Petroleum Mohsen Paknejad, along with several entities and ships helping to move Iranian oil, including to China.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies this month published English translations of recently updated or proposed semiconductor-related export controls issued by the Netherlands and Japan. The new Dutch regulations (see 2501150057) “specify which types of equipment now require a license to be legally exported from the Netherlands, based on specific technology usage or performance thresholds,” CSIS said, while the Japanese document includes proposed rules for “tighter restrictions on chip testing and measurement equipment, computer-aided design software, materials, and semiconductors.”
It’s possible that the Trump administration offers Russia some “symbolic” sanctions relief as part of peace negotiations with Ukraine, but the broader lifting of sanctions on Russia’s oil sector is more unlikely, a former U.S. sanctions official said this week.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced a bill March 13 to restrict U.S. outbound investment in China, the latest of several attempts to pass legislation on a topic many lawmakers consider critical to national security.
The EU General Court last week rejected Russian oligarch Alexander Ponomarenko's application to annul his sanctions listing after he argued the European Council violated his procedural rights, committed "manifest errors of assessment" and violated principles of fundamental law.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., announced March 12 that she won't seek reelection to a fourth Senate term in 2026. “It’s just time,” said Shaheen, 78. Her recent efforts have included advocating for sanctions in response to the Republic of Georgia’s crackdown on political dissent (see 2412020009). She also has proposed legislation that could lead to sanctions on Chinese entities that finance the fentanyl trade (see 2503100016).
Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., reintroduced a bill March 10 that would sanction foreign persons engaged in piracy. The Sanction Sea Pirates Act was referred to the House Foreign Affairs and Judiciary committees. The Foreign Affairs Committee approved the bill in the last Congress following a surge in Somali pirate attacks (see 2407080017).
Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., reintroduced a bill March 11 to create a federal task force to coordinate sanctions enforcement and other efforts against fentanyl traffickers.
Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., reintroduced a bill on March 11 to sanction those who are complicit in or materially support attacks on international shipping by the Yemen-based Houthis.
Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., reintroduced a bill March 11 to prohibit most private-sector retirement plans from investing in companies based in “foreign adversary” countries, including China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.