The U.S. is continuing to push Malaysia to strengthen its guardrails around sensitive American technologies at risk of being diverted to China, a top Malaysian trade official said this week. He also acknowledged that Malaysia and other Asian countries could soon be pressured to choose between either partnering economically with Washington or Beijing.
The Federal Maritime Commission this week launched an investigation on whether the vessel flagging laws, regulations or practices of foreign countries or shipowners, including the use of flags of convenience, are creating “unfavorable shipping conditions in the foreign trade of the United States.” The FMC said May 21 that its “nonadjudicatory” investigation will look into whether those practices or laws are violating U.S. shipping regulations, specifically referring to foreign countries that lower their shipping standards or ease “compliance requirements to gain a potential competitive edge” on vessels from other nations.
The U.K.’s Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation will begin accepting formal whistleblower disclosures June 26, the agency announced this week. OTSI will accept reports about a person or business “you think is committing a breach of trade sanctions that are implemented and enforced by” the agency. OTSI, a new agency launched in October, oversees and enforces trade restrictions for controlled goods and services moving or being provided outside the U.K. (see 2502140007, 2410100010, 2409130015 and 2502040042).
The Trump administration is considering designating the Taliban a foreign terrorist organization to pressure the Afghan ruling group to be more helpful in countering terrorist entities within Afghanistan, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said May 21.
Eight Senate Democrats, including Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., urged the Trump administration May 19 to reconsider its AI deals with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, saying the agreements lack guardrails to prevent the diversion of U.S. technology to China.
The EU is lifting its remaining sanctions against Syria, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said this week.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Miguel Angel de Anda Ledezma and Ricardo Gonzalez Sauceda, two senior members of the Mexico-based Cartel del Noreste, formerly known as Los Zetas, for their roles in trafficking firearms and violence. OFAC said de Anda oversees payments to “facilitators” and straw purchasers in the U.S., who make “false representations” to buy firearms from American businesses. Gonzalez led an armed enforcement wing of the cartel that has carried out attacks on the Mexican police and military, OFAC said. Mexican authorities arrested Gonzalez in February.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week deleted multiple Venezuela-related entries from its Specially Designated Nationals List, including Alejandro Antonio Fleming Cabrera and Leonardo Gonzalez. Fleming Cabrera was sanctioned in 2017 for being a senior Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs official, and Gonzalez was sanctioned in 2019 for his ties to corruption in Venezuela. The agency didn't release more information about the delistings.
U.S. and Indonesian officials convened in Jakarta this week to discuss Indonesian efforts to develop an export control system, the U.S. embassy in Jakarta said, and the two sides “facilitated dialogue and produced recommendations that will contribute” to the new system.
Beijing this week threatened to penalize any person or company that complies with new export control guidance from the Bureau of Industry and Security about advanced Huawei chips, saying the guidance constitutes “discriminatory restrictive measures against Chinese companies.”