The Biden administration will complete its review of the Section 301 tariffs "this fall," U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai wrote to senators, and while she did not commit to any course of action, she wrote: "As part of the 4-Year Review of the Section 301 tariffs, USTR is reviewing the effectiveness of the tariffs in achieving the objectives of the investigation, as well as the effect of the tariffs on consumers, workers, and the U.S. economy at large. As part of this review, we are considering the existing tariffs structure and how to make the tariffs more strategic in light of impacts on sectors of the U.S. economy as well [as] the goal of increasing domestic manufacturing."

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., reintroduced a bill that could impose “secondary sanctions” on companies doing business with entities that have been sanctioned for Uyghur-related human rights abuse in China’s Xinjiang region. The Sanctioning Supporters of Slave Labor Act, which was also introduced last year (see 2208020061), aims to better hold companies “accountable” for doing business with businesses tied to forced labor, Rubio said July 19. He said companies that “continue to do business with these sanctioned entities can still access the U.S. financial system,” adding that “not only should China’s genocidal regime answer for the crimes they are committing but also the companies that profit from these atrocities.”

A bill that says the Taiwan trade initiative can't take effect until the administration submits an economic analysis of its effects and answers questions from Congress on implementation has passed both chambers of Congress. The bill also says the next deal between Taiwan and the U.S. must gain congressional approval.

The Global Investment in American Jobs Act, a bill that directs the administration to produce a report on the effect of trade barriers to U.S. digital exports and on the extent of foreign direct investment in U.S. companies by state-owned enterprises, passed the House of Representatives by a 386-22 vote July 17. There is no similar bill introduced in the Senate.

A bipartisan bill recently introduced in the House would give the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. the power to block all U.S. land purchases by entities from certain “foreign adversary” countries and require mandatory CFIUS filings for those entities buying land near all American military bases. The Protecting U.S. Farmland and Sensitive Sites From Foreign Adversaries Act, introduced last week, also would establish a “presumption of non-resolvability” for those reviews, which would require the committee to assume at the outset that any national security concerns can’t be resolved.

A recently introduced House bill with bipartisan support could allow the State Department to give monetary awards for information on violators of U.S. or U.N. sanctions. The Sanctions Evasion Whistleblower Rewards Act of 2023, introduced by Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., and co-sponsored by Reps. Dean Phillips, D-Minn.; Pat Fallon, R-Texas; and Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., would authorize the State Department to hand out awards for information relating to people or entities violating U.S. export control laws or conducting “significant financial transactions” that violate U.S. or U.N. sanctions. The text of the bill was released this week.

A bipartisan bill that would require a pilot program to identify and predict vessels that could be evading sanctions or export controls was introduced last week by Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and James Lankford, R-Okla.

Republicans last week criticized the Biden administration’s “lack of sanctions enforcement” against Iran, saying the country continues to sell oil to China and use those profits to support Russia’s war against Ukraine. The lawmakers called on the Treasury and State departments to develop a strategy to “prevent Iran’s petrochemical industry from supporting the regime’s nefarious activities,” saying the strategy should include more sanctions against Chinese people and companies buying Iranian energy.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced legislation last week with an amendment that could expedite certain defense exports among the U.S., Australia and the U.K. The Department of State Authorization Act of 2023, approved by the committee July 13, now includes language that would authorize the transfer of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia and other measures to implement the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) agreement, lawmakers said.

The House last week voted 219-210 to pass its version of the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act with several trade related provisions and amendments, including one amendment that would prohibit “any form of sanctions relief” for the Taliban “unless explicitly authorized by Congress in subsequent legislation.” Another provision would block the Defense Department from entering into a procurement contract with any person or entity that has “business operations” with the Russian government, while another “exhorts” the Defense Department to “commit resources” to make sure “foreign military sales officers in the Department are fully staffed to support the fulsome review and expedient transfer of defense articles” to Australia and the U.K.