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.
The U.S. shouldn't ease sanctions on Russia if Moscow accepts a proposed 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine, two members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned the Foxtrot Network, a transnational criminal group based in Sweden, along with its leader Rawa Majid. OFAC said the group has trafficked illegal drugs and "carried out attacks on Israelis and Jews in Europe," including a January 2024 attack on the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm on behalf of the Iranian government. The agency said the designations build on President Donald Trump's February memo that ordered U.S. agencies to pursue a “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign against Iran (see 2502050020).
The Bureau of Industry and Security could face significant challenges imposing and enforcing export controls against China if the Trump administration continues to slash government workers and resources, particularly in the national security sphere, a technology policy researcher said in a new report. The report said the U.S. needs to continue investing in efforts to close export control loopholes that allow China to acquire advanced artificial intelligence chips, but it also said that even “extremely aggressive” controls are unlikely to give the U.S. a large lead in the AI race.
EU government enforcement agencies should better cooperate on sanctions and export control investigations, including by regularly sharing information during periodic meetings, according to a recent report from Kleptotrace, a research project co-founded by the EU.