State Department

Despite an attempt by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s on Sunday to re-engage with the U.S. on trade, Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday promised the U.S. would “in the next week or so” respond to the conviction and sentencing of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, whose trial President Trump cited in imposing 50 percent tariffs on Brazil. Trump in July wrote a letter to Lula announcing the 50 percent tariffs and focusing on Bolsonaro’s prosecution while...

The White House has quietly revised a statement it issued last Friday detailing international funding the administration wants to scrap, removing without explanation language that said the U.S. would not fund a “toothless” World Trade Organization. The Aug. 29 statement said President Trump would not allow the expenditure of $29 million that Congress appropriated to cover U.S. contributions to the WTO budget. The White House said the so-called “pocket rescission” would apply to the $521 million State Department “Contribution to...

The Trump administration should prioritize ensuring artificial intelligence infrastructure remains in the U.S. as it crafts new AI export controls, according to Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and panel member Mike Rounds (R-SD). The Trump administration in May said it would not enforce the framework for AI diffusion the Biden administration issued as an interim rule in January, saying it would instead introduce its own replacement rule . That rule has not yet been published. The new...

The top Democrat on the House select China panel is urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to improve U.S. access to rare earth minerals by enhancing cooperation with allies -- and asking the Commerce Department’s top export control official for an update on Chinese restrictions on the strategically critical elements. The U.S. auto, semiconductor and defense sectors are “dangerously reliant” on China for rare earths as the country controls more than 90 percent of rare earth minerals, House Select Committee...

U.S. officials are expected to take part in trade negotiations on the sidelines of next week’s World Expo in Osaka, Japan, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday. Japan on Monday was the first U.S. trading partner to receive a letter from President Trump announcing new unilateral tariffs. Goods from the country will face 25 percent tariffs beginning on Aug. 1, barring any negotiated solution or another delay. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will lead the U.S. delegation to the...

The United States, Australia, India and Japan have launched a “Quad Critical Minerals Initiative” aimed at expanding cooperation to reduce reliance on a single country, they said in a joint statement issued after talks in Washington, DC, on Tuesday. “We are deeply concerned about the abrupt constriction and future reliability of key supply chains, specifically for critical minerals,” reads the statement from the countries’ foreign ministers , who met on Tuesday. “This includes the use of non-market policies and practices...

The Bureau of Industry and Security’s information-sharing practices and limited consultations with other agencies “compromise the integrity” of export control license application reviews, the Government Accountability Office says in a new report. The Commerce Department’s BIS, which administers the U.S. export control regime, is statutorily required to consult with the Defense, Energy and State departments in doing so. It chairs various interagency committees involving the four agencies. But BIS is not providing Defense, Energy and State with appropriate access to...

Top State Department officials this week touted the development of a new trade paradigm with Africa centered on “commercial diplomacy” as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to recalibrate U.S. engagement with the continent. During the U.S.-Africa Business Summit in Angola, Troy Fitrell, the senior official in State’s African Affairs Bureau, said the Trump administration is redoing U.S. engagement with Africa because “the world has changed, the United States has changed, [and] markets have changed.” As part of the Bureau...