Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2662 actions· ✨ 89 recent

USTR published Federal Register notice 2026-11291 on June 5, 2026, opening a public comment period through July 10, 2026 (rebuttals by July 27, 2026) on the scope and operation of a proposed US-China Board of Trade — a standing government-to-government mechanism to manage bilateral trade in non-sensitive goods through reciprocal tariff modifications. The notice flows from commitments made at the May 15-17, 2026 Trump-Xi Beijing Summit and marks the first institutionalised bilateral trade-management architecture between the US and China. The Board of Trade would identify eligible products on each side and agree to modify tariffs on an equal-value basis, with regular meetings to monitor trade flows and update product lists. This is a process-initiation step (notice of inquiry); no tariff change or binding measure is enacted by this notice.

President Trump signed an Executive Order on June 3, 2026 restructuring the entire US customs-entry compliance architecture for global importers. Key provisions impose heightened bonding minimums and domestic-asset requirements for foreign importers of record (IORs), require CAATSA-compliance and supply-chain-disclosure certifications, restrict foreign IORs to formal entry only (creating a de facto US-IOR monopoly on informal entry), establish a "good standing" requirement for IOR eligibility, and sharply curtail CBP's mitigation authority while setting enhanced penalty floors. DHS/CBP is directed to implement penalty-floor, export-documentation, and disposal provisions within 90 days (~September 2026) and the IOR structural reforms within 180 days (~November 2026). The EO is structurally distinct from tariff-rate instruments (Section 232 Proclamations 11021/11032), trade-remedy channels (USTR Section 301), statutory forced-labor enforcement (UFLPA), and targeted-sanctions channels (BIS/OFAC) — it reshapes the foundational compliance architecture through which all goods enter the US market.

A divided three-judge panel of the US Court of International Trade (CIT), in Slip Op. 26-47 (Court Nos. 26-01472 and 26-01606, decided 7 May 2026), held 2-1 that President Trump's Proclamation 11012 — which imposed a temporary 10% ad-valorem import surcharge under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 — exceeded statutory authority because the proclamation did not identify a "fundamental international payments problem" as defined by the 1974 Congress (the balance-of-trade or current-account deficit relied upon by the government is not the type of balance-of-payments deficit the statute contemplates). The court issued a permanent injunction prohibiting CBP from collecting Section 122 duties from the three prevailing plaintiff- importers and ordered refunds with statutory interest for duties already paid; it declined to issue a nationwide injunction. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) entered an administrative stay of the CIT injunction on 12 May 2026 pending appeal, and the CIT denied the government's own motion to stay its ruling on 20 May 2026; the CAFC appeal is now pending.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative released the 2026 Special 301 Report on 30 April 2026, designating Vietnam as a Priority Foreign Country (PFC) — the most severe category under Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. § 2242). This is the first PFC designation since Ukraine held the status from 2013 through 2015, a gap of approximately 11 years. The PFC designation triggers a statutory 30-day window (expiring ~30 May 2026) within which USTR must decide whether to initiate a Section 301 investigation under 19 U.S.C. § 2412(b)(2)(A), which could lead to tariffs, withdrawal of trade benefits, or other Section 301 enforcement remedies against Vietnam. Separately, the EU was added to the Watch List for the first time, citing AI training-data, geographical-indications, and customs-enforcement concerns.

FinCEN issued an amendment to its June 30, 2025 special-measure order (90 FR 27770) that had prohibited US covered financial institutions from transmitting funds to or from CIBanco S.A., a Mexican multiple-banking institution previously designated as of primary money-laundering concern in connection with illicit-opioid trafficking. Effective April 16, 2026, the amendment authorizes transmittals of funds ordinarily incident and necessary for the Government of Mexico to liquidate CIBanco. The carve-out is narrow: the broader §2313a prohibition on US-side correspondent activity with CIBanco remains in force outside the liquidation channel.

The US Bureau of Industry and Security issued a final rule (RIN 0694-AK74, 91 FR 17851, FR doc 2026-06851, signed 7 April 2026, published 9 April 2026, effective 7 April 2026) extending two compliance dates in the January 2025 Foundry Due Diligence (FDD) interim final rule that introduced the "Authorized IC Designer" / "Approved IC Designer" framework for advanced-computing integrated circuits controlled under ECCN 3A090.a. The prior 13 April 2026 cutoff for Authorized IC Designer status — the self-certification pathway available to designers headquartered in Country Group A:1 / A:5 / Taiwan and not parented in Macau or D:5 — is moved to 31 December 2026, and the application window to become an Approved IC Designer is extended to the same date with a subsequent 180-day authorization runway. The rule is a procedural deadline-extension only; it does not change the substantive scope, eligibility criteria, ECCN classifications, or end-use / end-user restrictions of the FDD IFR.

FinCEN issued an expanded Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) requiring money services businesses (MSBs) located in designated counties and ZIP codes across Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas to file Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) on cash transactions between $1,000 and $10,000 — well below the standard $10,000 CTR threshold. The order took effect March 7, 2026 and runs through September 2, 2026; the FR notice (FR Doc. 2026-04641) was published March 10, 2026. The expansion adds Bernalillo, Doña Ana, and San Juan Counties in New Mexico and Maricopa and Pima Counties in Arizona to the geography covered by the prior September 10, 2025 GTO. Compliance date for newly-covered MSBs is April 6, 2026; reports must be filed within 30 days (extended from the standard 15-day CTR deadline). The instrument is part of the post-2024 US enforcement architecture targeting fentanyl-related illicit-finance flows through the US-Mexico border MSB channel.

President Trump signed Executive Order "Ending Certain Tariff Actions" on 20 February 2026 (Federal Register doc 2026-03832, published 25 February 2026), terminating the additional ad-valorem duties imposed under nine prior IEEPA-based executive orders. The order followed within hours of the US Supreme Court's 6-3 decision the same day in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, 607 U.S. ___ (2026), holding that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize the President to impose tariffs and vacating the Trump 2.0 IEEPA tariff regime. The EO directs CBP to cease collection "as soon as practicable"; CSMS guidance set the collection-end date at 12:00 a.m. eastern on 24 February 2026. The order explicitly preserves all underlying national-emergency declarations and all non-IEEPA trade actions — Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, Section 301 of the Trade Act, Section 122 of the Trade Act, and Section 201 — so the Section 232 cascade and the paired Section 122 10% temporary surcharge (effective 24 Feb 2026) remain in force. This is the first SCOTUS-driven repeal of a presidential tariff regime in the modern era and recalibrates the entire post-2024 US tariff architecture by removing IEEPA as a legal pillar.

The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (DOD, GSA, and NASA) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on 17 February 2026 (FR Doc 2026-03065, 91 FR 7223) implementing Section 5949(a) of the NDAA FY2023 (Pub. L. 117-263), which bars executive agencies from acquiring electronic products or services containing semiconductor components designed, produced, or provided by SMIC, CXMT, YMTC, or their affiliates. A Part B prohibition extends the restriction to "critical systems" whose subsystems incorporate covered semiconductors regardless of COTS sourcing. The comment period closed 20 April 2026; proposed prohibitions take effect 23 December 2027.

FinCEN issued a Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) under 31 U.S.C. § 5326 requiring banks and money transmitters located in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties, Minnesota (i.e., Minneapolis–St. Paul metro) to file reports with FinCEN on transactions of $3,000 or more where the beneficiary is located outside the United States. The order is effective February 12, 2026 through August 10, 2026 and is paired with a parallel Treasury/IRS audit and enforcement push targeting alleged government-benefits fraud (notably the federal child-nutrition program rings under prosecution in Minnesota since 2022). It is the second high-profile FinCEN GTO of the Trump 2.0 administration after the Southwest-border MSB GTO.

FinCEN issued a final rule delaying by two years the effective date of the August 28, 2024 Investment Adviser AML Rule (89 FR 72156) — which would have required SEC-registered investment advisers (RIAs) and Exempt Reporting Advisers (ERAs) to implement AML/CFT programs and file SARs under the Bank Secrecy Act. The compliance deadline moves from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2028. Treasury cited the need for additional time to review and re-tailor the rule to the diverse business models and risk profiles of the investment adviser sector, and to coordinate with related rulemakings. The final rule follows the September 22, 2025 NPRM and the August 5, 2025 exemptive relief order that had already paused enforcement.

On 22 December 2025 the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau released Public Notice DA-25-1086, adding to the Covered List (under section 1709 of the FY2025 NDAA) all unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and UAS critical components produced in a foreign country, plus communications and video-surveillance equipment/services produced by DJI Technologies and Autel Robotics (and their subsidiaries, affiliates, and licensing/JV partners). The designation is comprehensive by scope — every foreign-made drone from consumer quadcopters to large uncrewed systems, with no size/performance carve-out — and blocks the FCC from granting any new equipment authorization to covered UAS/components going forward. Previously authorized models already in the US market are not revoked. A follow-on Public Notice (DA-26-22, 7 January 2026) narrowed the scope with a temporary exemption (see amendments).

Section 851 of the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 119-60), signed December 18, 2025, prohibits US federal agencies from procuring biotechnology equipment or services from designated "biotechnology companies of concern" (BCCs), and bars federal contractors from using such equipment/services in work performed under federal contracts, grants, or loans. The final enacted text ties initial BCC designations to DoD's existing §1260H Chinese-military-company list (which currently includes BGI and MGI, but not WuXi AppTec or WuXi Biologics) and directs OMB to designate additional BCCs within one year of enactment; operational prohibitions activate 60-90 days after FAR revision, with a five-year grandfather period for pre-existing contracts — enforcement is expected to begin in 2027-28. The legislation is the successor to H.R.8333 (118th Congress, House-passed September 2024 but stalled in the Senate before adjournment) and represents the first enacted US federal-procurement biotech-supply-chain-resilience statute.

On 6 November 2025, the US Department of the Interior (DOI) and the US Geological Survey (USGS) released the final 2025 List of Critical Minerals under the Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. § 1606), expanding the designation from 50 to 60 minerals. The final list adds 10 newly designated commodities — boron, copper, lead, metallurgical coal, phosphate, potash, rhenium, silicon, silver, and uranium — based on updated supply-chain disruption modelling, public comment, and interagency recommendations. The list constitutes the foundational statutory anchor for downstream US critical-minerals policy instruments including DPA Title III awards, DOE LPO Title 17 loan eligibility, IRA Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit eligibility, Section 30D FEOC determinations, BIS export-control predicate assessments, Section 232 trade-investigation predicates, and CFIUS critical-technology triggers under 31 CFR § 800.215.

Pakistan's Directorate General of Customs Valuation (Karachi), acting under the Federal Board of Revenue, issued Valuation Ruling No. 2023/2025 on 5 November 2025 (C.No. Misc/12/2025-I/1073), fixing new minimum customs values under Section 25A of the Customs Act, 1969 for imported Zirconium Silicate (PCT 2530.9020): US$2.084/kg (C&F) for China, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam-origin shipments, and US$2.200/kg for Europe/USA-origin shipments. The ruling followed a finding that declared import values — as low as US$0.35/kg from China against a China/Europe international benchmark of US$1.70-1.82/kg for the constituent raw material (Zircon Sand) — were substantially below prevailing international market prices, and names China as the "global benchmark" origin used to set the floor.

FinCEN issued a final rule under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act (31 U.S.C. § 5318A) prohibiting US covered financial institutions from opening or maintaining a correspondent account for, or on behalf of, Cambodia-based Huione Group, a foreign financial institution found to be of primary money-laundering concern. Treasury determined that Huione Group and its subsidiaries — including Haowang Guarantee, Huione Pay PLC, and Huione Crypto — laundered at least $4 billion of illicit proceeds between August 2021 and January 2025, including funds tied to North Korean cyber-heist actors and Southeast Asian "pig-butchering" investment-scam compounds. The rule also imposes a special-due-diligence requirement on US covered institutions to guard against indirect access via foreign correspondent accounts. Effective November 17, 2025.

On 17 September 2025 the US Department of Commerce, through BIS, published an interim final rule (90 FR 44767, FR Doc 2025-18015) formally adopting the procedures by which additional automobile parts articles may be added to the scope of the Section 232 25% tariff on automobiles and automobile parts originally imposed by Proclamation 10908 (26 March 2025). The rule, required by the Proclamation to be established within 90 days, codifies four recurring two-week submission windows each year (opening on the first day of January, April, July and October) for inclusion petitions, and obliges the International Trade Administration to issue a public determination memorandum within 60 days of the close of each window. Comments on the interim final rule were due by 3 November 2025; the first inclusions window under the rule opened on 1 April 2026.

On September 10, 2025 FinCEN issued a Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) under 31 USC 5326 requiring money services businesses (MSBs) in designated southwest-border counties and ZIP codes across California, Texas, and (newly added) Arizona to file Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) on cash transactions between $1,000 and $10,000 — well below the BSA's standard $10,000 CTR threshold. The order ran through March 6, 2026 (180 days, the GTO statutory maximum) and was subsequently extended via the March 10, 2026 expanded GTO (FR Doc. 2026-04641) which retained the $1,000 floor and added inland transit hubs (Bernalillo, Doña Ana, San Juan in NM; Maricopa, Pima in AZ). The September 2025 order modified an earlier March 14, 2025 GTO that had used a $200 threshold and covered a narrower TX/CA strip; the September 2025 modification raised the threshold to $1,000 in response to MSB-industry feedback on operational burden, while extending the geography to include Arizona. Filing deadline is extended from the standard 15 days to 30 days.

FinCEN published an order amending the three June 25, 2025 special-measure orders (as previously amended by the July 11, 2025 order, FR doc 2025-12973) prohibiting US covered financial institutions from transmitting funds to or from CIBanco S.A., Intercam Banco S.A., and Vector Casa de Bolsa, S.A. de C.V. — three Mexican institutions designated of primary money-laundering concern in connection with illicit-opioid trafficking under Section 2313a of the Fiscal Year 2024 NDAA. The amendment extends the effective date of all three prohibitions from September 4, 2025 to October 20, 2025, granting US covered institutions an additional ~46 days to wind down correspondent exposures. The underlying primary-money-laundering-concern findings remain intact — only the implementation deadline shifts.

The FCC adopted a Report and Order (FCC 25-49) on 7 August 2025 — the first comprehensive overhaul of submarine cable landing license rules since 2001 — effective 26 November 2025. The order prohibits Indefeasible Right of Use (IRU) agreements that would give entities from designated foreign adversary countries (China including Hong Kong and Macau, Cuba, Iran, DPRK, Russia, and Venezuela) control over Submarine Line Terminal Equipment (SLTE) on US cable landings, and mandates new annual reporting plus certification/disclosure requirements covering ownership, cybersecurity and physical security plans, and FCC Covered List compliance. The order operationalises the FCC's bifurcated policy package: accelerating legitimate commercial cable buildout while hardening national-security review for foreign-adversary-connected infrastructure.

FinCEN published an order amending the three June 25, 2025 special-measure orders (FR docs 2025-11991, 2025-11993, 2025-11990; 90 FR 27770 et seq.) prohibiting US covered financial institutions from transmitting funds to or from CIBanco S.A., Intercam Banco S.A., and Vector Casa de Bolsa, S.A. de C.V. — three Mexican institutions designated of primary money-laundering concern in connection with illicit-opioid trafficking under Section 2313a of the Fiscal Year 2024 NDAA. This first extension shifts the effective date of all three prohibitions from July 21, 2025 to September 4, 2025 (a 45-day delay), giving US covered institutions additional time to wind down correspondent exposures. The underlying primary-money-laundering- concern findings remain unchanged — only the implementation deadline shifts.

The Bureau of Industry and Security issued an interim final rule ("Adoption and Procedures of the Section 232 Steel and Aluminum Tariff Inclusions Process," 90 FR 18780, RIN 0694-AK13) adopting the procedural framework directed by Proclamations 10895 and 10896 of 10 February 2025 for adding derivative steel and aluminum articles to the scope of the 25% Section 232 duties. Eligible US producers and industry associations may submit inclusion requests during three two-week windows per year (opening in May, September and January); BIS evaluates each request on a sixty-day clock and publishes a determination memorandum granting or denying inclusion. The rule replaces the legacy product-exclusions architecture with a domestic-producer-driven inclusions architecture, structurally expanding the perimeter of covered tariff lines over time.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a final rule on 21 March 2025 adopting without change its 13 September 2024 interim final rule that doubled the recordkeeping retention requirement for transactions subject to OFAC regulations from five years to ten years. The extension aligns 31 CFR 501.601, paragraph IV.B of appendix A to part 501, and 31 CFR 515.572 with the 10-year statute of limitations for IEEPA and TWEA violations enacted by the 21st Century Peace through Strength Act of 24 April 2024. The interim final rule's 10-year retention obligation became effective 12 March 2025; the final rule confirmed the IFR text without modification.

FinCEN issued an interim final rule (FR Doc 2025-05199, 90 FR 13688, published March 26, 2025) revising the definition of "reporting company" under the Corporate Transparency Act to mean only entities formed under the law of a foreign country that have registered to do business in a U.S. State or tribal jurisdiction. All entities created in the United States — previously known as "domestic reporting companies" — and U.S. persons are exempted from BOI reporting. Foreign reporting companies registered before March 26, 2025 must file by April 25, 2025; those registered on or after that date have 30 days from registration. Foreign reporting companies are not required to report any U.S. persons as beneficial owners. The IFR is effective immediately; FinCEN is accepting comments and intends to finalize the rule.

On March 11, 2025 FinCEN issued a Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) under 31 USC 5326 — published in the Federal Register on March 14, 2025 (FR Doc. 2025-04099) and effective April 14, 2025 — requiring every money services business (MSB) located in 30 designated ZIP codes across seven counties in California (Imperial, San Diego) and Texas (Cameron, El Paso, Hidalgo, Maverick, Webb) to file a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) on cash transactions of more than $200 but not more than $10,000, far below the Bank Secrecy Act's standard $10,000 CTR floor. The order also imposed customer-identification recordkeeping and, per the FinCEN order text, gave covered MSBs thirty (30) days to file CTRs (vs. the standard fifteen). It was framed by Treasury as part of the post-January-2025 cartel-targeting policy stack (Trump Executive Order 14157 designating Mexican drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations / SDGTs) and was intended to surface low-value cash flows used by Mexico-based cartels and related criminal actors. The GTO was a 180-day order set to expire September 9, 2025; it was subsequently superseded on September 10, 2025 by a modified GTO that raised the threshold to $1,000 in response to MSB-industry feedback on burden, expanded geography to Arizona, and was itself replaced/expanded again on March 10, 2026.

BIS (acting through its Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services, OICTS) published a final rule under Executive Order 13873's ICTS authority prohibiting certain connected-vehicle (CV) transactions involving hardware and software designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China or the Russian Federation. The rule reaches the Vehicle Connectivity System (VCS — hardware/software enabling external RF connectivity above 450 MHz) and the Automated Driving System (ADS) software stack. Effective 17 March 2025, with phased prohibitions: import/sale of CVs incorporating covered software prohibited from model year 2027; import of covered VCS hardware prohibited from model year 2030 (or 1 January 2029 for hardware not associated with a model year). Importers and connected-vehicle manufacturers must file annual Declarations of Conformity.

The U.S. Department of Commerce, through the International Trade Administration's Enforcement and Compliance unit, issued a final rule revising the annexes to 19 CFR Part 351 to modernize the forms, certifications, and instructions used by parties to antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) proceedings. The modernization updates legacy paperwork (entries-of-appearance, questionnaire certifications, scope-application templates, service lists) for the electronic ACCESS filing era and aligns the annexes with Commerce's 2024 substantive AD/CVD rulemakings. A correcting amendment published 31 March 2025 (FR Doc. 2025-05482) fixed inadvertent date and regulatory-language errors in the December rule but left its substantive content unchanged.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a final rule on 19 December 2024 amending 32 parts of 31 CFR chapter V to modernize the general licenses authorizing payments for legal services from funds originating outside the United States. The rule replaces the annual reporting requirement that had applied to such payments with a 10-year recordkeeping requirement, aligning the legal-services general licenses with the new 10-year statute of limitations for IEEPA/TWEA violations and OFAC's parallel 5→10-year recordkeeping extension (31 CFR 501). The rule also standardises legal-services general-license language across programs — removing legacy letter-of-engagement prerequisites in certain parts (e.g., 31 CFR 594, 597), updating 31 CFR 549 (Lebanon) and 31 CFR 576 (Iraq Stabilization and Insurgency) to remove the requirement that payments for authorised legal services be separately specifically licensed, and harmonising the 31 CFR 591 (Venezuela-related) authorisation language. The rule was effective 19 December 2024 with an applicability date of 12 March 2025.

The U.S. Department of Commerce, through the International Trade Administration's Enforcement and Compliance unit, issued a final rule amending 19 CFR Part 351 to enhance the administration of the antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) trade-remedy laws. The final rule (FR Doc. 2024-29245, 89 FR effective 15 Jan 2025) operationalises the proposals in the July 2024 NPRM (89 FR 57286), tightening procedures for cash-deposit and liquidation instructions, scope determinations, certifications, and treatment of non-market-economy and particular-market- situation findings — areas central to the second Biden-Trump hand-off in trade-remedy enforcement. A correcting amendment (FR Doc. 2025-05481, effective 31 Mar 2025) restored inadvertently deleted CFR language and fixed punctuation/spelling errors without changing substantive scope.

The U.S. Department of Commerce, through the International Trade Administration's Enforcement and Compliance unit, published a technical correction to its 31 January 2024 final rule ("Procedures and Rules for Article 10.12 of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement", 89 FR 6011) that established the binational-panel and extraordinary-challenge-committee procedures replacing the legacy NAFTA Article 1904 framework. The correction removes erroneously duplicated regulatory text in 19 CFR § 356.8(b)(2) — language that had been inadvertently copied from § 356.8(b)(1) in the prior rulemaking — and is effective on publication. The fix is non-substantive and does not alter any rights, obligations, or procedural requirements for parties to USMCA Chapter 10 binational-panel reviews of US antidumping and countervailing duty determinations involving Canadian or Mexican merchandise.

BIS published a notice (FR Doc 2024-26886; 89 FR 91251) extending the public-comment deadline on its 23 October 2024 interim final rule "Revisions to Space-Related Export Controls" (89 FR 84770; RIN 0694-AJ87; docket BIS-2024-0031). Comments originally due 22 November 2024 are now due 23 December 2024. BIS cited the need to give commenters additional time and to incorporate input from public-outreach sessions. The underlying IFR eases controls on ECCNs 9A004 and 9A515 by shifting reasons for control from NS1/RS1 to NS2/RS2, eliminating licensing requirements for exports of covered space items to roughly 40 countries.

BIS published a Federal Register notice (FR Doc 2024-25663; 89 FR 87783) announcing a public briefing on 6 November 2024 (1:00-3:00 p.m. EST) on its space-related export-control rulemaking package of 23 October 2024. The notice covered three companion rules: the interim final rule "Revisions to Space-Related Export Controls" (FR Doc 2024-23958), the final rule "Removal of License Requirements for Certain Spacecraft and Related Items for Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom" (FR Doc 2024-23932), and a parallel proposed rule contemplating a new License Exception Commercial Space Activities (CSA). The briefing was a procedural stakeholder outreach event; it did not create or modify any substantive controls. Written questions were due by 5 p.m. EST on 4 November 2024.

The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published in the Federal Register (89 FR 84472–84474, FR Doc 2024-24524) three general licenses issued under the Western Balkans Stabilization Regulations (31 CFR Part 588): GL 3A, GL 4, and GL 5. All three were originally issued on 18 June 2024 concurrent with OFAC's expansion of Republika Srpska / Dodik-network designations; the 23 October 2024 Federal Register notice formalises them per the Administrative Procedure Act notice requirements. GL 3A (which superseded GL 3 of 16 November 2023) authorises transactions involving certain WBSR-blocked entities that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the exportation or re-exportation of agricultural commodities, medicine, medical devices, replacement parts and components, software updates, or activities involving medical prevention, diagnosis, treatment, or clinical trials. GL 4 authorises wind-down transactions with entities blocked on 18 June 2024 through a defined cutoff. GL 5 authorises transactions ordinarily incident and necessary to the manufacture, distribution, operation, installation, or maintenance/repair of drinking-water pumps manufactured or distributed by the WBSR-blocked Bosnian Serb entity Kaldera Company EL PGP d.o.o. (and 50%-or-more-owned subsidiaries), preserving municipal water supply continuity.

FinCEN published a final rule (FR Doc 2024-23920, 89 FR 83782, effective on publication October 18, 2024) clarifying the public-utility exemption to the Corporate Transparency Act's beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting rule. The amendment to 31 CFR 1010.380(c)(2)(xv) corrects a drafting cross-reference so the exemption explicitly covers any regulated public utility under 26 U.S.C. 7701(a)(33)(A) *or* (D) that provides telecommunications services, electrical power, natural gas, or water and sewer services within the United States. The change codifies FinCEN's June 10, 2024 telecommunications-provider guidance and is effective immediately upon publication; it neither expands nor restricts the underlying universe of reporting companies beyond aligning the rule text with the CTA statute.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a clerical correction to its 16 September 2024 final rule "Administrative and Enforcement Provisions" (RIN 0694-AJ84, 89 FR 75477). The original final rule's instruction No. 2 erroneously stated that 15 CFR 764.5 paragraph (b) was to be revised; BIS clarifies that only paragraphs (a) and (c) through (f) were revised and paragraph (g) added, while paragraph (b) was not intended to be amended. The correction is purely typographical and has no substantive effect on the underlying enforcement procedural changes.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a final rule on 8 October 2024 amending the Reporting, Procedures and Penalties Regulations (RPPR) at 31 CFR Part 501. The rule finalises portions of OFAC's 10 May 2024 interim final rule and adds three exceptions to the requirement to file a report with OFAC concerning blocked property that is unblocked or transferred. It also implements other technical clarifications to OFAC's reporting framework. The rule takes effect on 7 November 2024.

The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a final rule amending 35 parts of 31 CFR chapter V to clarify the procedures OFAC follows when it issues orders that block — or identify as blocked — specific property or interests in property, and orders that impose other prohibitions short of full blocking. The rule clarifies that Federal Register publication of names blocked pending investigation will not necessarily occur for property-specific blocking actions, and expands notes explaining unblocking and administrative-reconsideration procedures available to affected persons. Effective on publication, 17 September 2024.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a final rule (RIN 0694-AJ84; 89 FR 75477) amending 15 CFR Parts 764 and 766 of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to restructure administrative enforcement procedures. The rule revamps the voluntary self-disclosure (VSD) process under 15 CFR 764.5, abolishes prior penalty caps, amends the penalty guidelines in Supplement No. 1 to Part 766, and establishes that a deliberate decision not to disclose a "significant apparent violation" of the EAR will be treated as an aggravating factor when BIS calibrates administrative sanctions. The rule is effective on publication (16 September 2024).

FinCEN issued a final rule (89 FR 70258, FR Doc 2024-19198) requiring certain real-estate-closing and settlement professionals to file a new "Real Estate Report" and maintain records on non-financed (i.e., all-cash) transfers of U.S. residential real property to specified legal entities and trusts, on a nationwide basis. The rule uses a "reporting cascade" to designate one filer per transaction (settlement agent, title-insurance underwriter, escrow agent, or attorney, depending on which is present), replacing the long-running geographic-targeting-order (GTO) regime with a permanent nationwide framework. The original effective date of December 1, 2025 was subsequently postponed to March 1, 2026 via a FinCEN exemptive-relief order issued September 30, 2025.

FinCEN issued a final rule (published September 4, 2024 at 89 FR 72156; FR Doc 2024-19260) including most SEC-registered investment advisers (RIAs) and Exempt Reporting Advisers (ERAs) within the Bank Secrecy Act definition of "financial institution." Covered firms must implement a risk-based AML/CFT compliance program, appoint a compliance officer, train staff, obtain independent testing, file Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) and Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs), and participate in §314(a)/(b) information sharing. The original compliance date was January 1, 2026; FinCEN subsequently delayed the effective date to January 1, 2028 by final rule published 2026-01-02 (FR Doc 2025-24184).

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a final rule amending three sanctions programs. The rule adds a new general license at 31 CFR § 525.512 to the Burma Sanctions Regulations authorizing the provision of agricultural commodities, medicine, medical devices, replacement parts and components for medical devices, and software updates for medical devices to individuals whose property and interests in property are blocked. It also updates the authorities section of the Burma Sanctions Regulations to reflect recent legislation, replaces "the Office of Foreign Assets Control" / "the Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control" with the acronym "OFAC" in three sections of the Sudan Stabilization Sanctions Regulations, and corrects a cross-reference in the Ukraine-/Russia- Related Sanctions Regulations. The rule is effective on publication.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a technical-corrections rule fixing language in the July 18, 2024 interim final rule on "Standards-Related Activities and the Export Administration Regulations" (FR Doc. 2024-15810). The July 18 rule inadvertently revised text related to recent Entity List modifications; this 2024-07-25 corrections document restores the prior Entity List language. The corrections are administrative and do not change substantive export-control policy or add/remove any Entity List parties. Both rules touch 15 CFR Part 744.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) finalized amendments to its Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) regulation at 15 CFR Part 700, originally proposed February 7, 2024. The final rule clarifies long-standing standards and procedures by which BIS provides Special Priorities Assistance (SPA) under the Defense Production Act of 1950, revises Schedule I to delineate Department of Commerce DPAS jurisdiction from other agencies' priority-rating authorities, and applies non-substantive technical edits reflecting updates since the regulation was last amended in 2014. The rule takes effect August 21, 2024.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an interim final rule (FR Doc. 2024-15810) amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) so that certain "releases" of technology and software during "standards-related activities" are no longer subject to the EAR. The rule revises 15 CFR §734.10 and consolidates the patchwork of prior carve-outs (May 2019 Huawei 5G TGL, June 2020 IFR, September 2022 Entity-List-wide IFR) into a single activity-based exclusion. The change enables US firms to participate in international standards bodies (IEEE, 3GPP, ITU, ISO, IEC) alongside Entity-Listed parties — most consequentially Huawei — without licence exposure. Comments were due September 16, 2024.

The Department of Commerce published a final rule redesignating the regulations implementing Executive Order 13873 (Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain) from 15 CFR subtitle A, part 7 (Office of the Secretary of Commerce) to 15 CFR subtitle B, chapter VII, part 791, under the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). The redesignation reflects the formal transfer of ICTS-transaction review authority from the Secretary of Commerce to BIS's new Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services (OICTS). The rule is non-substantive — it relocates the existing regulatory text without altering the scope of covered ICTS transactions, the foreign-adversary list, the review procedures, or any substantive obligations on parties. Effective on publication (18 July 2024) without notice and comment because it is an internal agency reorganization.