After two days of talks between U.S. and Chinese officials, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that they and Chinese counterpart Vice Premier He Lifeng have a "framework" for a deal for China's Byte Dance to divest TikTok to U.S. buyers, and that deal will be completed on Sept. 19 as Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump talk about the divestiture.
Canada this month renewed an exemption that allows Canadian organizations and people to continue to carry out humanitarian-related transactions with Syrian institutions that would otherwise be blocked under Canada's sanctions laws. The country renewed the measure for six months, saying it "will support the delivery of assistance in Syria during this important period of political transition." The extension allows Canadians, including the Syrian diaspora, civil society, nonprofit and charitable organizations, to carry out "humanitarian and stabilization activities and make transactions with sanctioned banks, including the Central Bank of Syria."
The Council of the European Union on Sept. 12 extended its individual sanctions, imposed in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, for another six months, pushing them to March 15. The restrictions cover over 2,500 individuals and entities that were targeted "in response to Russia’s ongoing unjustified and unprovoked military aggression against Ukraine." The council also decided not to renew the listings for one individual and to remove one "deceased person" from the restrictions.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week issued a reminder to industry to file annual reports on blocked property by Sept. 30. Holders of blocked property must provide the agency "with a comprehensive list of all blocked property held as of June 30 of the current year," it said.
President Donald Trump is getting closer to ramping up financial sanctions pressure against Russia for its failure to agree to a peace deal with Ukraine, said Keith Kellogg, the president’s special envoy for Ukraine.
President Donald Trump posted over the weekend that he's prepared to levy new sanctions against Moscow if U.S. allies stop purchasing Russian oil and potentially put in place other sanctions against the country.
The U.K.'s secretary of state for business and trade, Peter Kyle, visited China Sept. 10-11, where he raised Britain's concerns "on national and economic security issues," including the continued "provision of military support to Russia" by Chinese companies, the ministry said last week. Kyle also spoke with Beijing about Chinese export controls on rare earths (see 2507070005) and how they impact supply chains, and he "challenged the Chinese government on the erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong and human rights concerns."
Japan last week introduced new sanctions and export bans on entities supporting Russia's war against Ukraine and lowered its price cap on Russian oil following a similar move by the EU and other nations (see 2507180017).
The State Department’s Defense Export Control and Compliance System will undergo maintenance from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET Sept. 15. "Industry users may experience service degradation, interruptions, or limited application functionality within DECCS during this maintenance window," the agency said. "If you experience any issues, please log back in after the maintenance window."
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, introduced a bill Sept. 9 to impose property-blocking sanctions on Nigerian officials who permit or promote the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities.