Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has announced that Brazil will grant exemptions from certain categories of short-term visas to Chinese citizens, in reciprocity for China's visa exemption policy for Brazilian nationals, the Brazilian presidency said on Friday.
According to an official statement, the decision was made in the context of deepening cooperation between Brazil and China, with the aim of further facilitating people-to-people exchanges and promoting bilateral interaction.
The Brazilian government said the specific implementation date of the visa-free policy will be announced at a later time.
Brazil to grant exemptions from certain categories of short-term visas to Chinese citizens
The Trump administration on Friday expanded its sanctions targeting Iran's oil trade and maritime networks, issuing a new Iran-related general license and updating its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list with entities and oil tankers tied to Iran's petroleum sector.
The Iran-related General License T, issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), authorizes "limited safety and environmental transactions and the offloading of cargo involving certain persons or vessels blocked on January 23, 2026."
Meanwhile, OFAC updated its SDN list, adding multiple shipping companies and nine oil tankers in alleged links with Iran. The move is expected to effectively block their U.S. property and prohibit U.S. citizens from engaging in transactions with them.
"OFAC is targeting nine shadow fleet vessels and their respective owners or management firms that have collectively transported hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of Iranian oil and petroleum products to foreign markets," the Treasury Department said Friday in a press release.
"As previously outlined, Treasury will continue to track the tens of millions of dollars that the regime has stolen and is desperately attempting to wire to banks outside of Iran," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on X.
The move came after a series of U.S. sanctions and other measures adopted earlier this month, seen as part of a broader U.S. effort to cut off funding streams supporting Tehran amid ongoing tensions.
U.S. expands sanctions targeting Iran's oil trade, maritime networks
