A government shutdown certainly didn't slow the news cycle this month. This month was filled with deals, deals, and other trade issues, primarily focused on critical minerals and rare earth metals. I take a brief look at all of those deals (unless another new one came out after I finished!) and a few other stories that made the headlines this month on Russia and Canada. What's the breakdown of these new deals, what's in them, what do they aim to accomplish? Tune in and find out.

Just as predicted, the export control relief targeting Syria was finally published this month. In this episode I take a deep dive into what our sanctions/export control stance towards Syria was up to this point, and examine the reforms that have come through to see what this new stance means for trade with Syria.

https://www.bis.gov/press-release/commerce-eases-export-controls-syria

https://www.bis.gov/node/18307

https://www.bis.gov/regulations/ear/746#section-746.9

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/09/02/2025-16724/relaxing-export-controls-for-syria

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/31

August saw several important events related to peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, with America playing an important role in facilitating. But what does the future look like for American sanctions and export controls against Russia? To understand that, we'll first need a refresher on where we currently stand. Tune in and find out!

In this episode I breakdown the recently released AI Action Plan from the Trump administration. What's in it? How does it relate to export controls? And what is industry's reaction? Tune in to find out!

In this episode we take a look at our current trade relationship with Iran with regards to sanctions and export controls. With the recent hostilities combined with a turbulent trade policy in general shaking things up, it's important to remember that some hard lines may remain, and sanctions against Iran will likely be one of those lines in the sand.

In this episode I cover this month's breaking news that the Biden AI Diffusion Regulations have been rescinded. I also cover some of the accompanying policy shifts and regulation guidance that the Trump Administration put out regarding Integrated Circuits and speculate on the potential AI regulations that are promised to come out in the future.

I take a close look at the AUKUS deal, what it actually accomplishes, and how we can view it as a template for regulation and barrier removal to prosperous trade.

The MTCR has gone through some recent changes, America's policy has shifted which opens us up to new opportunities. We talked about that and let that lead us into a broader discussion about relaxing trade restrictions in order to foster industrial growth with our allies