U.S. adds 43 Chinese companies to forced-labor list.
Today's events
Forced-labor list.
The United States added 43 China-based companies to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List — producers of seafood, gold, copper, aluminum, tomatoes, cotton and garments — bringing the list to 187 entities barred from the U.S. market.1Jul 31 · StateTwo quantum orders.
Trump signed Executive Order 14412, “Securing the Nation Against Advanced Cryptographic Attacks,” alongside a same-day companion, Executive Order 14413, on quantum innovation.2Jul 31 · WHCabinet at Camp David.
Trump held the first live televised Cabinet meeting at Camp David, where Rubio called the Hamas disarmament deal “another big step” and Vance reported $230 billion in identified fraud, $56 billion of it halted.3Jul 31 · WHNorth Korean tech workers.
State and the FBI issued a joint alert with ten other governments warning that North Korean IT workers use false identities and AI to win remote contracts, remitting the pay to nuclear and missile programs.4Jul 31 · StateHamas financing case.
Prosecutors unsealed a complaint charging Mohammad Yousef Hasna, global director of a UK-registered charity, with conspiring to provide material support to Hamas; he was arrested in Britain.5Jul 31 · DOJQuartz import safeguard.
Trump issued a safeguard proclamation on imported quartz surfaces after the International Trade Commission found the imports a substantial cause of serious injury to U.S. producers; Canada, Mexico, South Korea and Australia were excluded from that finding.6Jul 31 · WHInflation and incomes.
June consumer prices fell 0.1 percent on the month but stood 3.7 percent above a year earlier, 3.3 percent excluding food and energy; personal income rose $54.9 billion and the saving rate was 2.7 percent.7Jul 30 · BEAItaly joins the minerals pact.
Italy signed the Pax Silica Declaration in Brindisi as the 25th signatory, committing its manufacturing base to the U.S.-led effort on critical-minerals and semiconductor supply chains.8Jul 31 · StateFirst talks with Brunei.
The United States and Brunei convened their first Strategic Dialogue in Washington, marking the elevation of ties to a strategic partnership and adding a military-education program.9Jul 31 · State
This week
The Iran war reopened on two fronts.
Central Command's previous announced strike had been July 23. After more than 30 Revolutionary Guard-directed drone attacks on U.S. forces and Saudi energy infrastructure in 72 hours, U.S. and Saudi aircraft struck militia sites across eastern Iraq on July 28. Iran answered with a ballistic-missile salvo at U.S. bases, which was intercepted, and Central Command then hit dozens of Guard command centers, missile and drone plants and coastal defenses inside Iran.1Jul 28–29 · CENTCOMSanctions followed the strikes.
State designated two Revolutionary Guard-backed Iranian firms that charge commercial ships for insurance against the seizures Iran itself threatens, plus eight carriers hauling Iranian crude to China and the Emirates (July 29). A day later it sanctioned six entities and individuals in China, India, Russia and Iran supporting Mahan Air, the Guard's airline, along with a front company soliciting the locations of American and Israeli equipment.2Jul 29–30 · StateGrowth slowed as prices rose.
The Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate at 3.50 to 3.75 percent on July 29 by a 9–3 vote, with three regional bank presidents dissenting in favor of an increase, and tied still-elevated inflation partly to energy supply shocks. Second-quarter output grew at a 1.5 percent annual rate, down from 2.1 percent, while the price index for gross domestic purchases rose 5.7 percent against 3.6 percent.3Jul 29–30 · Fed / BEAExport limits on recovered minerals.
Trump signed a Presidential Determination on July 30 finding recoverable critical minerals essential to national defense and granting the Commerce Secretary authority to restrict their export — shredded battery material, end-of-life rare-earth magnets and scrap. It was the first of three supply-chain actions in two days, followed by 43 additions to the forced-labor ban list and Italy's accession to the U.S.-led minerals pact. The order restricts exports rather than subsidizing domestic production.4Jul 30 · WH$76.6 billion for submarines.
The Department of War awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat and Newport News Shipbuilding a contract on July 30 for five Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarines and nine Virginia-class attack boats, bringing seven Columbia-class boats under contract. It landed the same week the Air Force said retirements are outpacing production and that nearly half its aircraft are more than forty years old.6Jul 30 · Navy220 million voter records.
The White House Government Transparency Task Force published declassified intelligence findings on July 30 that China and its proxies bought, stole or hacked as many as 220 million Americans' voter-registration records. The documents say adversaries could alter that data to keep voters from voting or force provisional ballots. The same day, the cyber agency reported a rise in attacks on internet-exposed controllers at U.S. water utilities, some forcing boil-water notices.7Jul 30 · WH
Allied Governments
Britain and India lodge a trade treaty.
The Foreign Office laid the UK–India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement before Parliament as a published treaty.aJul 31 · UK FCDOJapan protests a new East China Sea structure.
Tokyo confirmed China had begun installing a structure west of the Japan–China equidistance line, lodged a strong protest and urged resumption of talks on the 2008 resource agreement.bJul 31 · Japan MoFAWest Bank settler violence.
The Foreign Office condemned settler attacks on Palestinian villages, including arson against mosques in Qusra and Kour, and called threats to expand settlements illegal under international law.cJul 30 · UK FCDO
Voices
“The International Criminal Court is an illegitimate international organization… they claim that even if you're not a member of that court, they can come after you.”
Sec. of State Marco Rubio, Cabinet meeting, Camp David · Jul 313
“Forced labor distorts markets and allows foreign actors to abuse the global trading system.”
State Dept. press statement on the forced-labor entity list · Jul 311
“[We're] looking forward to getting $1.5 trillion next year… and the good news is all of that equipment is made in the USA.”
President Donald J. Trump, on defense spending · Jul 313
“North Korean IT workers employ increasingly sophisticated methods, including the integration of AI, to obfuscate their identities and expand their activities globally.”
Joint alert of the United States and ten partner governments · Jul 314
“Hasna worked closely with Hamas's senior leadership to deliver supplies, food, funding, and other materials to terrorists under the guise of humanitarian aid.”
U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald, Southern District of New York · Jul 315
“They reaffirmed a shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and to preserving the freedom of navigation and lawful commerce in the South China Sea.”
U.S.–Brunei Strategic Dialogue readout, State Dept. · Jul 319
Sources
- U.S. Dept. of State, “Additions to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List,” July 31, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/uflpa-entity-list-additions
- GovInfo — Presidential Documents, “Executive Order 14412—Securing the Nation Against Advanced Cryptographic Attacks” (same-day companion: DCPD-202600418, Executive Order 14413—Ushering in the Next Frontier of Quantum Innovation), July 31, 2026. govinfo.gov/app/details/DCPD-202600417
- White House, “President Trump Hosts Historic Cabinet Meeting at Camp David,” July 31, 2026. whitehouse.gov/releases/…/cabinet-meeting-camp-david
- U.S. Dept. of State, “Alert to Countries, Companies, and Other Entities Regarding North Korean IT Workers,” July 31, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/north-korean-it-workers
- U.S. Dept. of Justice, “Turkey-Based Global Director of Sham Charity Arrested and Charged with Conspiring to Provide Material Support to Hamas,” July 31, 2026. justice.gov/opa/pr/…/sham-charity-hamas
- White House, “To Facilitate Positive Adjustment to Competition from Imports of Quartz Surface Products” (Proclamation), July 31, 2026. whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/…/quartz-surface-products
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, “Personal Income and Outlays, June 2026,” July 30, 2026. bea.gov/news/2026/…/personal-income-and-outlays-june-2026
- U.S. Dept. of State, “US Welcomes Italy into Pax Silica Initiative,” July 31, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/italy-pax-silica
- U.S. Dept. of State, “Under Secretary Hooker Co-Chairs the First U.S.-Brunei Strategic Dialogue,” July 31, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/us-brunei-strategic-dialogue
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, “International treaty: UK/India: Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement [TS No.30/2026],” July 31, 2026. gov.uk/government/publications/…/uk-india-trade-agreement
- Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “New Movement by China Concerning Unilateral Development of Natural Resources in the East China Sea,” July 31, 2026. mofa.go.jp/press/release/…/east-china-sea
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, “Statement: situation in the West Bank,” July 30, 2026. gov.uk/government/news/…/west-bank-statement