Briefer News

U.S. begins removing Syria's terrorism designation.

Today's events

• Syria delisting.

  President Trump notified Congress of his intent to rescind Syria's State Sponsor of Terrorism designation after a 45-day period, citing counterterrorism assurances from President al-Sharaa and moving to unlock trade and investment.¹Jul 8 · State
• Venezuela air bridge.

  U.S. earthquake aid passed $386 million after the June 24 quakes as State, Airlink and Amazon opened a weekly Miami-to-Venezuela air bridge; the USS Fort Lauderdale and Southern Command backed relief off La Guaira.²Jul 8 · State
• Right to repair.

  The FTC and five states settled their January 2025 antitrust suit against Deere & Company, requiring it for ten years to give farmers and independent shops the repair software and tools it gives authorized dealers.³Jul 8 · FTC
• Taiwan Strait.

  On the NATO summit's margins in Ankara, the U.S., Japanese, and South Korean foreign ministers backed peace across the Taiwan Strait, opposed economic coercion and supply-chain weaponization, and reaffirmed North Korea's denuclearization.⁴Jul 8 · State
• Fertilizer emergency.

  Acting on a June 29 presidential emergency declaration, Commerce began letting importers bring phosphate fertilizer from Morocco free of countervailing duties to secure supply for U.S. farmers through the planting and growing season.⁵Jul 8 · Commerce
• Fentanyl precursors.

  The DEA proposed controlling phenethyl halides — chemicals used in synthetic routes to make fentanyl — as List I substances under the Controlled Substances Act, regulating all transactions regardless of size or concentration.⁶Jul 9 · DEA
• Delfin LNG.

  The Fifth Circuit rejected environmental groups' challenge to the Delfin deepwater LNG export port, ruling they lacked standing; DOJ tied the license to the President's Unleashing American Energy order.⁷Jul 8 · DOJ
• AI accuracy.

  The FTC proposed a policy statement warning that marketing an AI system while secretly steering its outputs toward undisclosed ideological aims can be a deceptive practice under Section 5 — even to comply with state law.⁸Jul 7 · FTC
• Trade deficit.

  The U.S. goods-and-services trade deficit widened to $77.6 billion in May, up from $54.6 billion in April, as imports rose to $395.3 billion and exports slipped to $317.7 billion.⁹Jul 7 · BEA

Allied Governments

• European deep strike.

  The UK launched a European initiative under which twelve countries will spend more than $50 billion over ten years on long-range precision-strike weapons reaching 300 to 2,000 kilometers, unveiled as NATO leaders met in Ankara.^aJul 8 · UK No.10
• Defence minerals.

  NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte launched a project joining twelve allies to secure the supply, storage, and recycling of critical raw materials for defence production and reduce dependence on vulnerable supply chains.^bJul 7 · NATO
• UK–Türkiye pact.

  The UK and Türkiye signed a Security and Defence Partnership at the Ankara summit, institutionalizing cooperation on deterrence, defence industry, cyber and hybrid threats, counter-terrorism, and space between the two European NATO allies.^cJul 8 · UK No.10

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