Free Republic

On October 27, 2023, the Bureau of Industry and Security announced it would stop issuing export licenses for most countries’ firearms, components, and ammunition, with some exceptions.On November 28, 2023, Jim Comer, the Republican Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability in the House, sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, asking for information and a briefing on the decision. From the letter:We write to request information on the recent decision by U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) to cease issuing new export licenses related to certain firearms, firearm components, and ammunition for approximately 90 days. This action...

On January 26, President Joe Biden announced a “pause” on federal approval for new liquefied natural gas (LNG)–export terminals. While the Department of Energy’s indefinite suspension and order for new environmental analyses may keep the president’s reelection hopes above water, it will harm America’s long-term economic and geopolitical interests. Further, the policy may not even serve its ostensible purpose of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. Ten months from Election Day, the president’s campaign likely thinks that renewed attention on his climate agenda will rouse support among progressive Democrats, who have drifted from Biden in recent months. By rallying his political coalition, however,...

TAIPEI, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Taiwan's export orders fell more than expected in their worst performance in six months in December, with the outlook for the island's high-tech products remaining poor due to growing doubts about global economic growth. Export orders last month slipped 16.0% from a year ago to $43.81 billion, the worst showing since July and well below the average analyst forecasts of a 0.25% decline predicted in a Reuters poll. Orders edged up 1.0% year-on-year in November. ... Weak demand for Taiwan's technology products amid global economic uncertainty has prompted the government to forecast that for 2023...

In 2022, global military budgets hit $2.2 trillion, an eighth consecutive year of increase.Part of those budgets were used for the procurement of arms, but which countries are major weapons suppliers, and how do they influence the global arms trade?In the chart below, Visual Capitalist's Bhabna Banerjee and Marcus Lu highlight the top 10 countries with the biggest share of global arms exports using data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).Which Country Exports the Most Weapons?The U.S. is the biggest weapons exporter, accounting for 40% of the total volume of international arms transfers between 2018–2022. Nearly one-fifth of...

China’s exports of two rare minerals essential for manufacturing semiconductors fell to zero in August, a month after Beijing imposed curbs on sales overseas, citing national security. China produces about 80% of the world’s gallium and about 60% of germanium, according to the Critical Raw Materials Alliance, but it didn’t sell any of the elements on international markets last month, Chinese customs data released on Wednesday showed. In July, the country exported 5.15 metric tons of forged gallium products and 8.1 metric tons of forged germanium products. When asked about the lack of exports last month, He Yadong, a spokesperson...

Niamey. - Western Africa’s Niger is in global spotlight since last week’s coup in capital Niamey when pro West President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown by his own presidential guards. The coup in Uranium-rich Niger, which forms a key part of Africa’s Sahel region — a land belt that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea — has drawn global condemnation. While a bloc of West African leaders has threatened ‘intervention’ if Mohamed Bazoum is not reinstated within a week, the French - who were an imperial power in present-day Niger until 1960 - have also warned of action...

U.S. refineries are preparing themselves for the possibility that President Biden could impose a ban on fuel exports after the White House dangled the threat of the ban in front of refiners. No action has been taken to date, but with the mid-terms coming up and fuel prices continuing to rise, this could soon change. Earlier this month, the White House requested that the DOE assess the potential impact of banning fuel exports – including gasoline, diesel, and other refined petroleum products. The move suggested that President Biden may be preparing for a ban. This comes ahead of the mid-term...

Higher oil export volumes, coupled with rising petrol prices, will boost Russia’s earnings from energy exports to $337.5bn this year, a 38 percent rise from 2021, according to an economy ministry document seen by Reuters news agency.

The US general nominated to be the next commander of NATO suggested in a Senate hearing on Thursday that he may offer military options to facilitate grain exports from Ukraine and help break Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s southern coast. When asked what NATO could do about Russia’s blockade, Gen. Christopher Cavoli, who currently serves as the commander of US Army Forces in Europe and Africa, said if he’s confirmed, he would “provide the military options required by our civilian leaders.” “Clearly the way we would approach that would have to be a whole of government approach, which may or may...

The Biden administration appeared to reverse its previous position that it wouldn’t consider an oil export ban Tuesday. “I can confirm the president is not taking any tools off the table,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm remarked, Reuters reported. “If you had a ban on crude oil exports, because you’re cutting off supply to the global market, you are going to have higher global crude prices and higher global refined product prices that would be fed through here,” said Garrett Golding, a business economist tasked with analyzing energy markets at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. EEnergy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said...

After nearly a month, Indonesia will lift an export ban on palm oil starting Monday, which could ease tight edible oil markets worldwide and reduce some of the pressure on soaring food prices. “Based on the current supply and price of cooking oil and considering that there are 17 million workers in the palm oil industry, both working farmers and other supporting staff, I have decided that the export of cooking oil will reopen on Monday, May 23,” President Joko Widodo said in a statement on Thursday. Indonesia is the world’s biggest shipper of edible oils, accounting for nearly 60%...

In April India said it was hoping to expand its wheat exports from 7 million tons to 10 million. However, as precarious winter wheat harvests reflect lower outputs, they are reversing position and will now block any wheat exports in order to ensure their own supply.INDIA – […] The announcement drew sharp criticism from the Group of Seven industrialized nations’ agriculture ministers meeting in Germany, who said that such measures “would worsen the crisis” of rising commodity prices.“If everyone starts to impose export restrictions or to close markets, that would worsen the crisis,” German Agriculture Minister Cem Ozdemir said at...

India this morning has banned all wheat exports for 2022. India is a large producer of wheat but not a large exporter of wheat, according to this article with the war in Ukraine and the global price of wheat exploding, India was looking to export a large amount of wheat to capitalize on the price increase, all that stopped today. I don't want to read too much into this issue, if you look at Sri Lanka, they are in near civil war over food security, we don't have baby formula, it will be interesting to what happens on the summer...

The world's top palm-oil producer announced that it would ban exports of the commodity starting on Thursday, sending the prices of edible oils soaring. Indonesia accounts for about half of the world's supply of palm oil, the world's most widely used vegetable oil. Palm oil is used for cooking and for the production of thousands of consumer products, including biscuits, detergents, and lipsticks.In a video statement on Friday, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said the move was designed to bring down domestic palm-oil prices and ensure domestic food availability in the wake of global food inflation. "I will monitor and evaluate...

Ukraine, known as the “breadbasket of Europe” given it’s long been among the world’s top ten wheat exporters and supplied over $6 billion in agricultural products to the European Union in 2020, has issued an emergency order Wednesday banning the export of grains and other products.The ban includes the export of wheat, oats, millet, buckwheat, sugar, live cattle, meat, and other products considered vital to the global economy. But amid wartime, and with Ukraine’s government saying many of its citizens are now starving under Russian siege, Ukraine’s minister of agrarian and food policy Roman Leshchenko said the drastic action was...

Brothers Joe and Dror Sery are accused of sending technical drawings and specs of defense projects to China, India without licenses. The former CEO of a San Diego-based company that manufactures tungsten components for the U.S. military has been charged alongside his brother on accusations of violating arms export laws, according to an indictment unsealed Friday. Joe Sery, 77, who used to own and run Tungsten Heavy Powder & Parts, and his brother, Dror Sery, 70, have been indicted on charges relating to a conspiracy to export sensitive information about defense systems to China and India without a license. Joe...

This morning we listed some of the countries that are dangerously (and almost exclusively) reliant on Russia and Ukraine for their wheat imports, highlighting Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia and others…… which are facing an “Arab Spring” style food crisis (and potential uprising) in the coming weeks unless the Ukraine conflict is resolved. And unfortunately, we can now confidently predict that the coming food crisis will strike every country that is using food fertilizer – which is all – because moments ago, Russian Interfax reported that as part of Moscow’s countersanctions, Russia has recommended fertilizer makers to halt exports, a move which...

Technical drawings alleged to have been exported (by Honeywell) to China, among other countries, covered components used on various military aircraft, and more. That document includes the following list of impacted platforms, with a caveat that this was only some of the examples, rather than a full accounting: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter B-1B Lancer Long-Range Strategic Bomber F-22 Fighter Aircraft C-130 Military Transport Aircraft A-7H Corsair Aircraft A-10 Aircraft Apache Longbow Helicopter M1A1 Abrams Tank Tactical Tomahawk Missile T55 Turboshaft Engine

China has been quietly exploring the economic damage it could inflict to US and European companies - including defense contractors - if they were to impose export 'restrictions' on 17 rare-earth materials, according to a report in the Financial Times.Notably, the US government relies on these rare earths for the manufacture of F-35 jets and other sophisticated weaponry, which use them for critical components such as electrical power systems and magnets."The government wants to know if the US may have trouble making F-35 fighter jets if China imposes an export ban," said one Chinese government adviser who spoke on condition...

Recent Chinese media reports revealed that Beijing was seeking to export COVID-19 vaccines at extremely low prices, while selling them at considerably higher rates—more than 22.5 times in one case—inside China. As countries race toward developing a safe vaccine, the Chinese regime has aggressively pushed for Chinese manufacturers to export their doses to foreign countries. One Chinese drug company said it would sell the vaccine to Brazil for around $2 per dose. But in interviews with Chinese media, the company’s CEO said it would sell the vaccine at 300 yuan (about $44) per dose in China. The $2 per dose...