By Reuters

May 21, 2026 3:44 PM UTC Updated 15 mins ago

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on artificial intelligence at the “Winning the AI Race” Summit in Washington D.C., U.S., July 23, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura Purchase Licensing Rights

May 21 (Reuters) – The White House ‌has postponed its planned Thursday ceremony ​for President Donald ​Trump to sign a ⁠new executive order ​on AI and ​cybersecurity, two sources familiar with the matter said.

Axios, ​citing an internal ​note, was the first to ‌report ⁠the news.

The Week in Breakingviews newsletter offers insights and ideas from Reuters’ global financial commentary team. Sign up here.

The order would create a voluntary framework for ​AI ​developers ⁠to engage with the U.S. ​government about ​the ⁠public release of covered models, two sources ⁠told ​Reuters on ​Wednesday.

Reporting by Courtney Rozen, ​writing by David Ljunggren

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Supreme Court revives damages suit against cruise ship companies that docked in Cuba

2026-05-21 10:16 AM ET / CNN

By John Fritze

Updated May 21, 2026, 11:04 AM ET

The US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on Thursday, May 14.

Eric Lee/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Summary

• The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed a lawsuit to proceed against major cruise lines over their use of Havana docks confiscated by Cuba’s government in 1960.
• Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the 8-1 majority opinion, with the decision coming as the Trump administration increases pressure on Cuba.

AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.

The Supreme Court subjected the world’s largest cruise ship companies to a stiff headwind on Thursday, reviving a claim that alleged they trafficked in property confiscated by the Cuban government when they docked their ships in Havana.

The court’s decision is a loss for Royal Caribbean Cruises, Carnival Corporation and other companies and lands at a moment when the Trump administration is ramping up economic and political pressure on Cuba.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion for an 8-1 court. Liberal Justice Elena Kagan was the sole dissenter.

The decision comes a day after the Department of Justice indicted former Cuban President Raúl Castro on charges that stem from his alleged role in the 1996 shootdown of two civilian aircraft that killed four people, including three Americans. While announcing the charges, Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche said President Donald Trump would soon make an announcement on the Cuban embargo.

Trump has also flirted with military action in Cuba, telling reporters on March 17 he might have the “honor of taking Cuba.”

Related article President Donald Trump walks to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on Wednesday. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Trump seeks redemption in Cuba after his regime-change failure in Iran 7 min read

The case was tied to property confiscated in 1960 shortly after Castro came to power in the island nation’s revolution and involved a law Congress passed in 1996 allowing US nationals to sue over that seized property in US courts.

Havana Docks Corporation built Havana’s piers in 1905 for the Cuban government on the condition that it would operate the port for 99 years. Castro’s government seized the docks shortly after coming to power.

The world’s largest cruise lines, the company said, “nonetheless moored their massive ships at the confiscated docks without Havana Docks’ authorization” from 2015 to 2019. In its appeal, the company described the case as the most important involving US foreign policy toward Cuba to reach the Supreme Court in decades.

“Havana Docks has shown that the cruise lines used confiscated property in which Havana Docks had a property interest and to which it owns a claim,” Thomas wrote for the majority.

The decision Thursday does not decide the case but rather allows the Havana Docks litigation to proceed.

Kagan argued that the court fundamentally misread the case.

Related article Rhyannon Bartlett-Imadegawa, CNN Tracking the major Supreme Court cases of 2026 1 min read

“The docks belonged to the Cuban Government– not Havana Docks – all along,” she wrote in dissent. “What Havana Docks owned was only a property interest allowing it to use those docks for a specified time. And that time-limited interest expired in 2004 – more than a decade before the cruise lines ever used the docks.”

During the end of President Barack Obama’s tenure and much of the first Trump administration, the company said, “the cruise lines disembarked nearly one million tourists on those docks, and paid Cuba’s cash-strapped Communist regime at least $130 million in hard currency without paying a penny to either Havana Docks or any Cuban person or entity unaffiliated with the regime.”

In the cruise ship case, the question was whether the company could collect damages even though its lease on the docks would have expired in 2004 without the Castro takeover. The Atlanta-based 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the cruise lines and the Havana Docks Corporation appealed to the Supreme Court last year.

Related vertical video Reuters Raul Castro indicted for multiple criminal charges

美国格陵兰特使兰德里（右三）5月20日在格陵兰首府努克出席商业论坛。 （法新社）

（努克法新电）美国格陵兰特使兰德里说，华盛顿需要重新扩大在格陵兰岛的军事存在。

冷战高峰时期，美国在格陵兰设有17处军事设施，但这些设施后来陆续关闭，目前仅保留北部皮图菲克基地。

格陵兰位于俄罗斯和美国导弹飞行最短路径上，同时蕴藏未开发的稀土矿产。美国总统特朗普多次强调，美国必须控制格陵兰，否则这座北极岛屿可能落入中国或俄罗斯势力范围。他还在去年12月委任路易斯安那州共和党州长兰德里为格陵兰特使。

兰德里星期天（5月17日）在未获得官方邀请的情况下抵达格陵兰岛访问，引发争议。他周三（20日）结束访问前说：“我认为现在是美国重新把足迹带回格陵兰的时候。”

他称特朗普正在谈论扩大国家安全行动，重新启用格陵兰部分旧基地。他也称，“格陵兰需要美国”。

延伸阅读

美国启用驻格陵兰领事馆 料招致抗议
格陵兰岛总理：特朗普仍然渴望控制和拥有格陵兰岛

媒体近日报道，美国计划在格陵兰南部增设三个军事基地。

根据1951年签署、2004年更新的防务协议，美国可在提前通知丹麦与格陵兰的情况下，增加驻军与军事设施。

今年1月，特朗普改口，不再坚持吞并格陵兰岛，并同意与丹麦和格陵兰组成三方工作组来处理他关切的问题。

但兰德里在接受格陵兰媒体访问时，试图煽动格陵兰人争取独立。“我认为有一些绝佳的机会，可以真正帮助格陵兰人摆脱依赖，走向独立。”他说，特朗普也希望看到格陵兰实现经济自主。

民调显示，大多数格陵兰人赞成有朝一日脱离丹麦独立，但由于经济等问题有待解决，格陵兰政府目前没有独立计划。

Obama’s baseball outing with Castro reignites fury after Trump DOJ drops hammer on Cuban leader

May 21, 2026 11:29am EDT / Fox News

Acting AG Todd Blanche says nations ‘cannot be permitted to target Americans, kill them, and not face accountability’

By Ashley J. DiMella Fox News

Former Cuban President Raúl Castro was indicted Wednesday in connection with the 1996 shootdown of two civilian aircraft that killed four people — reviving scrutiny of former President Barack Obama’s highly publicized 2016 trip to Havana.

“President Obama’s approach to Cuba was not merely a policy mistake. It was a diplomatic disaster — naive at best, incompetent at worst, and deeply disrespectful to the dissidents, political prisoners and victims who suffered under the Castro regime,”former Miami mayor Francis Suarez, who is Cuban-American, told Fox News Digital.

“Obama treated normalization as enlightened diplomacy. It handed legitimacy to a brutal dictatorship while asking little in return,” said the Fox News contributor. “The administration reopened relations, relaxed restrictions and gave Havana a public-relations victory, yet the Cuban people remained trapped under the same repressive system and the United States gained no meaningful security concessions.”

The Justice Department on Wednesday unsealed a superseding indictment charging Castro and five co-defendants over the deaths of four U.S. nationals aboard two unarmed civilian aircraft operated by the Miami-based exile group. Cuban-American critics said the charges underscore longstanding objections to Obama’s normalization push, which they argue gave legitimacy to the Castro regime.

US MOVING TO INDICT FORMER CUBAN LEADER RAÚL CASTRO: SOURCE

Obama went to Cuba with his family in 2016 for bilateral talks on human rights and economic discussions.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Obama traveled to Cuba in 2016 as part of his administration’s push to normalize U.S.-Cuba relations after decades of hostility, arguing that engagement on diplomacy, the economy and human rights would be more effective than isolation. The visit also included Obama and Castro attending a baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national team in Havana.

“I have come here to bury the last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas,”Obama said from Havana that year. “I have come here to extend the hand of friendship to the Cuban people.”

Photos of Obama and Castro embracing during the 2016 Havana trip quickly resurfaced online after the indictment, going viral across social media and triggering a wave of criticism from users who blasted the optics of the former president’s relationship with the communist leader.

“While Raoul was harboring American terrorists like Joanne Chesimard and Guillermo Morales. Disgusting,” wrote Fox News contributor Paul Mauro on X.

“Barack Obama in his element with communists and criminals,” wrote General Mike Flynn on X.

OBAMA SETS INTERNET ABLAZE WITH ‘SICK’ REACTION TO THE ‘MOTIVE’ OF WHCD SHOOTER

Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz reposted a photo with a cringe emoji.

Castro, 94, is the younger brother of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Raul Castro served as Cuba’s president from 2008 to 2018.

Suarez said that Obama’s Cuba policies were not just a human rights failure but a national security failure not understanding the serious threat the regime posed.

DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS CRITICIZE BIDEN ADMIN’S CUBA DETENTE’

Photos of Obama and Raul Castro at a baseball game in Havana resurface after the DOJ unsealed the Castro indictment.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“It did nothing to curtail Cuba’s role as a base for America’s enemies. It did nothing to confront the island’s use as an intelligence and spy platform so close to our shores. It did nothing to reduce the regime’s support for terrorism. It did nothing to confront Cuba’s narco-state behavior or its destabilizing influence throughout the hemisphere,” said Suarez.

RUBIO BLASTS COMMUNIST CUBAN REGIME AS NJ TROOPER’S KILLER REMAINS FREE

President Barack Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro stand together during Obama’s visit to Cuba.(Getty Images)

Obama’s trip came two decades after the 1996 incident, which became a major flashpoint in U.S.-Cuba relations, as the Trump administration adopted a more public and hardline approach toward Cuba.

TRUMP DECLARES NATIONAL EMERGENCY OVER CUBA, THREATENS TARIFFS ON NATIONS THAT SUPPLY OIL TO COMMUNIST REGIME

“Raúl Castro and five co-defendants participated in a conspiracy that ended with Cuban military aircraft firing missiles at those planes and killing four Americans,” said acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday during the indictment announcement. “Nations and their leaders cannot be permitted to target Americans. Kill them, and not face accountability.”

Fidel Castro and his brother Raul Castro attend a parade in Havana, Cuba, on Dec. 2, 1996.(Sven Creutzmann/Mambo Photography/Getty Images)

Following the indictment, Trump said Cuba is “very important.”

“A lot of people have suffered very big, very, very at levels that few people would understand. And I think the Cuban population of Miami, and certainly beyond Miami,” said Trump. “People that came there that were decimated, whose families were ruined, appreciate what the Attorney General just did today, and he’s just doing it now. He’s just watching it. We have Cuba on our mind. Very important.”

Suarez said that for Cuban Americans, Obama cozying up with Castro was disrespectful.

“It is about families torn apart, property confiscated, voices silenced, dissidents beaten, prisoners of conscience abandoned and generations forced to live under fear. To treat the Castro government as a normal partner without first honoring those victims was not diplomacy,” he said.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Trump has previously joked the U.S. would be “taking over” Cuba “almost immediately.”

“Cuba’s got problems. We’ll finish one first. I like to finish a job,” he added this month.

Fox News Digital reached out to Obama’s office and the White House for additional comment on the renewed criticisms of the trip.

Ashley J. DiMella reports on politics for Fox News Digital.

美国格陵兰特使兰德里（右三）5月20日在格陵兰首府努克出席商业论坛。 （法新社）

（努克法新电）美国格陵兰特使兰德里说，华盛顿需要重新扩大在格陵兰岛的军事存在。

冷战高峰时期，美国在格陵兰设有17处军事设施，但这些设施后来陆续关闭，目前仅保留北部皮图菲克基地。

格陵兰位于俄罗斯和美国导弹飞行最短路径上，同时蕴藏未开发的稀土矿产。美国总统特朗普多次强调，美国必须控制格陵兰，否则这座北极岛屿可能落入中国或俄罗斯势力范围。他还在去年12月委任路易斯安那州共和党州长兰德里为格陵兰特使。

兰德里星期天（5月17日）在未获得官方邀请的情况下抵达格陵兰岛访问，引发争议。他周三（20日）结束访问前说：“我认为现在是美国重新把足迹带回格陵兰的时候。”

他称特朗普正在谈论扩大国家安全行动，重新启用格陵兰部分旧基地。他也称，“格陵兰需要美国”。

媒体近日报道，美国计划在格陵兰南部增设三个军事基地。

根据1951年签署、2004年更新的防务协议，美国可在提前通知丹麦与格陵兰的情况下，增加驻军与军事设施。

今年1月，特朗普改口，不再坚持吞并格陵兰岛，并同意与丹麦和格陵兰组成三方工作组来处理他关切的问题。

但兰德里在接受格陵兰媒体访问时，试图煽动格陵兰人争取独立。“我认为有一些绝佳的机会，可以真正帮助格陵兰人摆脱依赖，走向独立。”他说，特朗普也希望看到格陵兰实现经济自主。

民调显示，大多数格陵兰人赞成有朝一日脱离丹麦独立，但由于经济等问题有待解决，格陵兰政府目前没有独立计划。

40 years after woman murdered in Virginia, DNA leads to arrest in Connecticut

May 21, 2026 / 10:39 AM EDT / CBS News

By Kerry Breen News Editor
Kerry Breen is a news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University’s Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News’ TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.

Read Full Bio

A Connecticut man was arrested for the decades-old rape and murder of a Virginia woman after forensic evidence offered new leads in the cold case, police said Wednesday.

The body of 22-year-old Roberta Walls was found in a field in Virginia Beach on the morning of May 15, 1986, the Virginia Beach Police Department said in a news release. The department described her as “a vibrant young woman” who “had a promising future ahead of her.”

Walls had been sexually assaulted and stabbed multiple times. Police investigated the killing, but had no leads, according to the department. Eventually, it was assigned to the department’s Cold Case Unit.

In 2001, a DNA profile was developed and run through the Virginia Department of Forensic Science, police said. The profile information was also entered in a nationwide databank. Investigators determined the DNA profile belonged to a man, but no matches were found, according to CBS affiliate WTKR.

In 2017, a lab in northern Virginia analyzed the DNA and created a composite photo of Walls’ killer, police said, but these developments again did not lead to any arrests.

Roberta Walls. Virginia Beach Police Department

The Virginia Beach Police Department received grant funding in 2023 that allowed investigators to pursue forensic genealogy leads, according to WTKR.

VBPD Detective Bureau Captain Michele Wyatt said in the news release that a direct DNA comparison led to the identification of Charles Berry, a 66-year-old man living in Newington, Connecticut. Berry was confirmed to be the source of the DNA profile, Wyatt said.

“While (Walls’ killing) was an egregious event, there is joy in finally finding an answer,” Wyatt said.

WKTR reported that Berry was believed to be in the U.S. Navy at the time of the murder. Investigators obtained a warrant for his DNA, which they compared to the profile from the crime scene, WTKR said.

Berry was arrested on Monday in Newington, Connecticut. Police charged him with being a fugitive from justice, the Newington Police Department said in a news release. He is being held on a $10 million bond and is awaiting extradition to Virginia, the Virginia Beach Police Department said. Police did not say what charges he will face in Virginia.

Virginia Beach Police Department Deputy Chief Jeffrey Wilkerson said investigators are “extremely confident we have the right person,” WKTR reported.

Virginia Beach Police Department Police Chief Paul Neudigate said he hopes the developments inspire other families waiting for answers.

“There are families and loved ones in this community that have not yet received the closure and the justice that they deserve,” Neudigate said. “For those families, there is hope for the future, and we want families to know our team is not giving up on them.”

伊朗德黑兰一幅印有穆杰塔巴照片的横幅。 （路透社档案照片）

路透社引述消息人士的话报道，伊朗最高领袖穆杰塔巴已下达指令，要求国家浓缩铀（enriched uranium）库存不得运往国外。

“最高领袖的指令以及当局内部的共识是，浓缩铀库存不得运出伊朗。”两名伊朗消息人士说，“伊朗高层官员认为，把核材料运往国外将使伊朗未来更易受到美国和以色列的攻击”。

新华社引述报道说，消息人士透露，伊朗方面认为当前战事暂停是美国的“战术欺骗”，目的是在恢复袭击之前制造“安全感”。

消息人士还说，伊美双方已开始缩小一些分歧，但在伊朗核计划方面仍存在更深分歧，其中包括伊朗浓缩铀库存的处置方式，以及伊朗要求拥有铀浓缩的权利得到承认。

以色列官员此前告诉路透社，美国总统特朗普已向以色列保证，伊朗库存的高浓缩铀将运出伊朗，任何和平协议都必须包含相关条款。

As Ebola cases rise, Americans returning from DRC must enter US via Washington Dulles

2026-05-21 15:43:50 / Reuters

By David Shepardson

May 21, 2026 3:43 PM UTC Updated 12 mins ago

Travelers wait to pass a security checkpoint at Dulles International airport in this file photo, in Dulles, Virginia, U.S. November 13, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

WASHINGTON, May 21 (Reuters) – As Ebola cases rise in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Americans who have been in that country, Uganda, or South ​Sudan within the last three weeks must only return to the United States ‌through Washington Dulles for enhanced screening, the State Department said Thursday.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Customs and Border Protection are applying enhanced public health screening at Dulles in response to the Ebola outbreak. ​An Air France AIRF.PA flight from Paris to Detroit on Wednesday was ordered diverted to ​Montreal after a passenger from the DRC boarded “in error,” CBP said.

Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here.

Secretary of State Marco ⁠Rubio said Thursday the diversion was to ensure Ebola does not reach the United States.

“We had ​a flight last night headed to Detroit that was diverted because we have to protect the ​American people. So, objective number one is to make sure that Ebola never reaches the United States. Objective number two is do what we can to help the people of DRC and neighboring countries so it doesn’t ​spread.”

The CDC on Monday said it was suspending entry of travelers who have been in the ​DRC and South Sudan within the prior weeks of arrival in the United States to reduce the risk ‌of ⁠Ebola spread. The ban does not apply to Americans or lawful permanent residents.

In 2014, the United States required travelers returning from three African countries over Ebola concerns to arrive at one of five U.S. airports with enhanced screening, including Dulles, New York JFK, Chicago O’Hare and Atlanta.

A case of ​Ebola has been confirmed ​in the east of ⁠the Democratic Republic of Congo’s South Kivu province – hundreds of kilometres from the outbreak’s epicentre – the rebel alliance that controls the area said on ​Thursday.

The outbreak has been linked to 139 deaths, with 600 suspected cases ​reported in ⁠Ituri and North Kivu provinces as of Wednesday, according to the World Health Organization. Two cases have also been confirmed in neighbouring Uganda.

The WHO declared the outbreak of the virus’s Bundibugyo strain, for which ⁠there is ​no vaccine, a public health emergency of international concern ​over the weekend.

Ugandan Information Minister Chris Baryomunsi told Reuters the U.S. was “overreacting” by banning most travellers from Uganda, along with ​DRC and South Sudan, earlier this week.

Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Aurora Ellis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

伊朗德黑兰一幅印有穆杰塔巴照片的横幅。 （路透社档案照片）

路透社引述消息人士的话报道，伊朗最高领袖穆杰塔巴已下达指令，要求国家浓缩铀（enriched uranium）库存不得运往国外。

“最高领袖的指令以及当局内部的共识是，浓缩铀库存不得运出伊朗。”两名伊朗消息人士说，“伊朗高层官员认为，把核材料运往国外将使伊朗未来更易受到美国和以色列的攻击”。

新华社引述报道说，消息人士透露，伊朗方面认为当前战事暂停是美国的“战术欺骗”，目的是在恢复袭击之前制造“安全感”。

消息人士还说，伊美双方已开始缩小一些分歧，但在伊朗核计划方面仍存在更深分歧，其中包括伊朗浓缩铀库存的处置方式，以及伊朗要求拥有铀浓缩的权利得到承认。

以色列官员此前告诉路透社，美国总统特朗普已向以色列保证，伊朗库存的高浓缩铀将运出伊朗，任何和平协议都必须包含相关条款。

Wall Street banks helped Chinese military-linked firm raise billions despite red flags, lawmakers find

House committee says banks broke no US law but chose to ‘disregard’ the government’s military designation to make millions

May 21, 2026 11:00am EDT / Fox News

By Morgan Phillips Fox News

FIRST ON FOX:Congressional investigators are accusing major U.S. banks of helping a Chinese battery giant the Pentagon labeled a “Chinese military company” raise billions of dollars from global investors despite unresolved national security concerns.

A new report from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party alleges JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America underwrote CATL’s Hong Kong IPO — helping the company raise money from investors through stock offerings — after the Pentagon designated the company under its Section 1260H list of Chinese military-linked firms in January 2025. The report also says JPMorgan, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley later participated in a second CATL offering.

The report places Wall Street at the center of a growing debate in Washington over whether American financial institutions should continue helping companies the Pentagon has identified as linked to China’s military or military-civil fusion strategy raise money from global investors, even when those activities remain legal under current U.S. law.

OUR ADVERSARIES ARE EVEN USING THE US BANKING SYSTEM. HERE’S HOW THEY GET AWAY WITH IT

The Pentagon’s Section 1260H list identifies companies the War Department determines are linked to China’s military or military-civil fusion strategy, though the designation itself does not broadly prohibit U.S. investment or commercial activity.

The committee argues the transactions exposed a major gap in U.S. policy because the designation carried reputational consequences but did not prohibit Wall Street firms from helping the company raise capital.

“To be clear, the banks broke no U.S. law and the transactions were not prohibited by U.S. law,” the report states. “But each bank made the choice to essentially disregard the U.S. government’s Chinese military company designation to make millions of dollars.”

Congressional investigators are accusing major U.S. banks of helping a Chinese battery giant the Pentagon labeled a “Chinese military company” raise billions of dollars from global investors despite unresolved national security concerns — though the transactions did not violate U.S. law.(Maxim Shemetov/File Photo/Reuters)

“The banks trusted CATL’s representations over the considered judgment of the U.S. government,” the report states.

The report alleges JPMorgan and Bank of America accepted CATL’s assertions that it had no links to China’s military despite the Pentagon’s conclusions and despite what the committee described as incomplete responses during due diligence reviews.

CHINA CONTROLS OVER 80% OF BATTERY MATERIALS CRUCIAL TO US DEFENSE EQUIPMENT, UNSETTLING REPORT REVEALS

CATL allegedly provided identical responses to multiple JPMorgan questions concerning ties to the People’s Liberation Army, dual-use technologies and military-linked entities, according to documents cited in the report.

The committee also cited what it described as publicly available evidence linking CATL to Chinese military-industrial entities, including relationships with companies on U.S. restriction lists and research collaborations involving defense-linked institutions.

“My committee’s investigation calls for serious policy changes to ensure what JPMorgan and Bank of America did never happens again,” said Select Committee Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich. “American banks must not help Chinese military companies raise money, because in doing so, they provide not only access to funding, but also legitimacy and credibility to companies that are helping our adversary build up its military.”

Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, testifies during a Senate Banking Committee hearing at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 6, 2023.(Win McNamee/Getty Images)

JPMorgan and Bank of America defended their involvement, arguing CATL is not sanctioned by the U.S. government and remains deeply integrated into Western manufacturing supply chains.

“Based on available information and our own due diligence, CATL has lawfully partnered with American companies — including major auto manufacturers — to provide essential battery technology that will strengthen U.S. manufacturing and enhance American competitiveness,” a JPMorgan spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

“We complied with the law and U.S. government sanctions policies,” a Bank of America spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “We conducted the appropriate due diligence on this transaction, and we shared significant detail about our process with the committee. CATL is not sanctioned by the US government and conducts significant business with U.S. companies.”

JPMorgan additionally argued the Pentagon designation applies primarily to War Department procurement and does not prohibit private-sector business relationships involving CATL.

CATL has other partnerships with major Western automakers including Ford, Tesla, Stellantis, BMW and Volkswagen.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon previously defended the bank’s work involving CATL in a Bloomberg Television interview in May 2025.

“If we thought it was wrong, we wouldn’t do it,” Dimon said. “The government did not sanction CATL.”

The debate underscores growing tension between U.S. national security concerns surrounding China and the reality that major American and European manufacturers remain heavily reliant on Chinese battery technology and supply chains.

Ford is currently building a $3 billion battery plant in Michigan using CATL technology through a licensing arrangement designed to avoid Chinese ownership of the facility, according to a recent Bloomberg report. Ford has argued the partnership helps strengthen domestic manufacturing and improve U.S. competitiveness in electric vehicle production.

The committee’s report argues current U.S. law is insufficient to stop American financial institutions from financing companies tied to China’s military-industrial base because Section 1260H restrictions primarily affect War Department procurement rather than broader commercial activity.

“The deals were legal, so the banks proceeded,” the report states.

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The committee recommends legislation that would prohibit U.S. financial institutions from underwriting offerings for blacklisted Chinese entities and urges the Treasury Department to impose stronger sanctions authorities against CATL.

Fox News Digital has also reached out to Morgan Stanley, CATL and the Pentagon for comment.

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