A bipartisan group of 10 senators called on the EU May 9 to step up sanctions against Venezuela to address the country’s repression of political opponents.

Several important authorities that the Bureau of Industry and Security has under the Defense Production Act will expire in September 2025 if the DPA isn't reauthorized, a BIS official said May 8.

Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Ted Budd, R-N.C., urged President Joe Biden to resume sending ammunition to Israel after he reportedly suspended the shipments.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, urged President Joe Biden this week to reject his administration’s proposal to waive sanctions to allow French company Électricité de France (EDF) to work with Russia's state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom.

A bipartisan group of more than 50 lawmakers urged USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service last week to protect U.S. poultry exports from what they consider unwarranted trade restrictions.

A bipartisan group of four House members introduced a bill last week they said would close an export control loophole that has allowed China to access advanced U.S. computing chips remotely.

The Federal Maritime Commission has been encouraging carriers to have a better relationship and more transparency with shippers, FMC Chairman Daniel Maffei said during a hearing held by the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation on April 30. Maffei said that this issue stems from the lack of transparency surrounding the Red Sea-related surcharges imposed by carriers due to Houthi attacks on commercial ships (see 2401290052).

Republicans are proposing to repeal the Corporate Transparency Act, saying the 2021 law has overburdened small businesses.

Reps. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., and Jared Golden, D-Maine, introduced a bill May 1 that would require the State Department to review and consider terminating Qatar’s status as a major non-NATO ally. Their proposal is companion legislation to a bill that three Republicans introduced in the Senate last month, citing Qatar's hosting of Hamas leaders (see 2404100064).

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jim Risch, R-Idaho, called on the Biden administration April 30 to revoke its new arms transfer policy, saying it duplicates human rights safeguards in existing law.