Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin, D-Md., said Jan. 26 that he will approve granting the request from Turkey to the U.S. for the purchase of F-16 fighter jets, following that country’s approval of Sweden’s accession to NATO.

The U.S. will make a statement in the dispute on the U.S. origin marking requirements for goods from Hong Kong during the World Trade Organization's Jan. 26 dispute settlement body meeting, the WTO said. A dispute panel ruled against the U.S. national security defense of its trade measure requiring goods from Hong Kong to be labeled as being made in China (see 2212220029).

Electronics distribution company Broad Tech System and its president and owner, Tao Jiang of Riverside, California, pleaded guilty Jan. 11 to participating in a conspiracy to illegally ship chemicals made or distributed by a Rhode Island-based company to a Chinese firm with ties to the Chinese military, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Rhode Island announced. Jiang and Broad Tech admitted to violating the Export Control Act and conspiring to commit money laundering.

The U.S. and the U.K. this week announced new sanctions against Hamas officials, people and entities helping to finance the terror group’s operations in Gaza, the Treasury Department said.

Turkey opened two safeguard investigations Jan. 12, one on knitted or crocheted fabrics, the other on paper and cardboard, it told the World Trade Organization's Committee on Safeguards, the WTO said. Turkey said that parties seeking to comment on the investigations must complete and submit to the nation's General Directorate the relevant questionnaires within 30 days following the publication of the notices of investigation.

The European Commission on Jan. 11 set duties on bulb flats from Turkey and China, the Directorate-General for Trade announced. Bulb flats are steel products used to fortify ship hulls in passenger cruise ships and military vessels. The AD rate will be 23% for imports from China and 13.6% for imports from Turkey.

USDA is accepting applications from exporters for its upcoming trade mission to India, the agency's Foreign Agricultural Service said this week. The April 22-25 trade mission will feature meetings with Indian importers, market briefings on the region, “relevant” site visits in New Delhi and opportunities to speak with USDA officials.

New Hampshire-headquartered NuDay was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay a $25,000 fine after it filed false export information, DOJ said Dec. 28. The agency said the five-year probation sentence for NuDay, founded as a nonprofit charity, was the “maximum penalty for an organizational defendant.”

Turkish duties on a host of U.S. products in retaliation for President Donald Trump's Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs violate World Trade Organization commitments, a WTO dispute panel ruled Dec. 19. The panel said the duties violate articles I and II of the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and also found that the Section 232 duties are not "safeguards."

The U.S. and the U.K. this week announced new sanctions against members of the Hamas terror group, designating “key officials” who represent the group abroad and manage its finances. The Office of Foreign Assets Control said the designations were “closely coordinated” with the U.K.’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation and are aimed at disrupting Hamas fundraising campaigns designed to funnel revenue to Hamas military activities in Gaza.