Although adopting a 50% rule for the Entity List could allow U.S. export controls to capture more bad actors, it could also cause unintended business consequences and may make it more challenging for the Bureau of Industry and Security to add companies to the list, said Matthew Axelrod, the agency’s former export enforcement chief.
The Democratic leaders of two key House committees said this week they’re “deeply concerned” about the Bureau of Industry and Security potentially pivoting away from traditional export control dialogues with allies and asked BIS to respond to oversight questions before the end of next week.
Megan Barnhill, a former partner at Bryan Cave, has joined ArentFox Schiff as a partner in the international trade and investment practice, the firm announced. ArentFox said Barnhill focuses on issues involving trade, export controls, sanctions and reporting obligations under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, applauded the Trump administration's decision last week to lift sanctions on Syria and urged the U.S. to help advance democracy in the country. "This is a positive step that will help Syria build a stable future," she said. "As we continue to lift restrictions, it is critical that we also increase our engagement with the Syrian authorities to help advance long-term stability, democracy and a more secure and prosperous future for the Syrian people and the region.”
The U.K. recently removed or amended entries from its ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qaida, Zimbabwe, and Russia sanctions regimes.
The Trump administration confirmed this week it will not renew a general license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control that has allowed Chevron to wind down certain oil activities in Venezuela.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang last week criticized U.S. export controls on advanced chips, saying restrictions against China have so far been a “failure.” He called on the government to allow Nvidia and other chip companies to more freely sell to China, which he said will help the U.S. economy.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week, in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
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."
Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Andy Kim, D-N.J., and Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., have been appointed to the Congressional-Executive Commission on China for the 119th Congress. Last year, the commission called for imposing export controls and foreign investment restrictions to prevent China from using biotechnology to commit human rights abuses (see 2412270037).