A new investigation by Congress detailed how China is buying sanctioned oil from rogue regimes around the world at a discount.

The House Select Committee on China released its report on how China is evading sanctions to purchase tens of millions of barrels of oil from countries like Iran, Russia and Venezuela that are the subject of U.S. sanctions, using a “shadow fleet” of tankers to transport sanctioned oil.

It found that sanctioned oil accounted for one-fifth of China’s total oil imports after the country became the buyer of last resort for those rogue regimes, which allowed it to stockpile a large strategic reserve of oil while buying at below market rates.

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Selling oil is a key component of the economies of Iran, Russia and Venezuela, and the report noted that energy exports yielded roughly $120 billion in revenue for Russia in 2024, about 30% of its total revenue.

Iran’s oil revenue is projected at more than $50 billion in 2025, which represents about 35% of its budget. Similarly, crude oil sales were Venezuela’s main source of hard currency.

China has been a key consumer of sanctioned oil from countries like Iran, Russia and Venezuela. (Reuters)

“From this sanctioned crude, China assembled a massive strategic petroleum reserve – roughly 1.2 billion barrels by early 2026, equal to approximately 109 days of seaborne import cover – at well below market cost from the very barrels Western sanctions were designed to strand,” the committee wrote.

The select committee said China relies on foreign suppliers for about 70% of its oil, much of which is delivered by sea routes that could be blockaded by U.S. and allied naval forces during a crisis, such as one stemming from a Taiwan contingency. That vulnerability prompted Chinese leaders to declare energy security an “urgent requirement in great-power competition” and build its massive reserve.

The report detailed how China uses a shadow fleet of tankers, which are generally older tankers that operate through opaque ownership structures under foreign flags with non-Western insurance that allow them to avoid complying with Western maritime laws. 

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China has built a substantial oil reserve in part through shipments conveyed by shadow fleet tankers. (Stefan Sauer/picture alliance via Getty Images)

The panel cited data from commodity data and analytics firm Kpler, which tracks vessel movements and trade patterns using satellite imagery, that found shadow fleet and sanctioned tankers moved about 10.3 million barrels of crude oil per day last year, with about one-third going to China. 

Additionally, it moved 2.2 million barrels per day of heavy refined products like fuel oil and crude residuals, with China receiving about 10.3%; while China also received about 45.8% of the shadow fleet’s chemical and biological cargo.

“China is the buyer of oil from desperate, rogue regimes through illicit, hard-to-track channels involving shell companies, Chinese refineries and a shadow fleet of oil tankers,” said Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich. 

“This investigation brings to light key information on how the Chinese Communist Party keeps the economies of Iran and Russia afloat while fueling its own authoritarian agenda.”

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Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have deepened the relationship between the two countries, with the energy trade a key component of their partnership. (Contributor/Getty Images)

China’s oil sources have been under pressure after U.S. action to detain Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and enforcement activities targeting Venezuelan oil, as well as the war in Iran, which has slowed the flow of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. 

Before the war, China imported 3.4 million barrels per day of oil from Gulf producers via the Strait. While Iran’s shadow fleet continues to make deliveries at near pre-war levels, shipments from other countries in the region have slowed to a halt, prompting China to ban fuel exports and raise retail prices to mitigate the impact of the oil disruption.

The committee’s investigation led to several policy recommendations for lawmakers to consider as they look to counter the flow of sanctioned oil that benefits rogue regimes.

Those suggestions include authorizing sanctions on ports, terminal operators and similar businesses that receive cargo transported by shadow fleet vessels and establishing a whistleblower reward program for reporting sanctions evasion – particularly in transshipment hubs like Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Dubai.

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They also include having financial regulators probe potential commodity market manipulation and transactions by entities involved in systematically purchasing and routing steeply discounted Russian crude by foreign refiners.

The panel also called for creating a contingency framework with major oil producers like Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iraq to expand supply because sustained lower prices would reduce the discount available on sanctioned crude oil from Iran and Russia.

Apple is scrapping its high-end Mac Pro desktop after two decades, signaling a shift in how the tech giant targets professional users, according to reports. 

The company has quietly removed the Mac Pro from its website, according to Bloomberg and 9to5Mac, marking the end of a product line that once served as a “halo” device for video editors and developers. The machine, known for its modularity and “cheese grater” design, carried a starting price of $6,999.

The move underscores Apple’s pivot toward more scalable devices powered by its proprietary silicon. By streamlining its lineup, Apple is prioritizing higher-margin, integrated hardware like the Mac Studio – a compact desktop that offers comparable performance to the Mac Pro at a significantly lower entry cost.

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A customer looks at a Mac Pro workstation at Apple’s flagship store on Nanjing Road in Shanghai, China, June 2, 2021.  (Costfoto/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

The decision comes as Apple marks its 50th anniversary, highlighting its evolution from a niche enthusiast hardware maker into a global company built on mass-market, tightly integrated ecosystems.

Apple employees help customers at the Fifth Avenue Apple Store on new product launch day on Sept. 19, 2025 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

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Apple has been selling through remaining inventory in retail stores. The company confirmed to 9to5Mac that it has no plans for future updates to the Mac Pro line, effectively ending the era of the internally expandable Apple desktop.

Apple’s new Mac Pro sits on display in the showroom during Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in San Jose, California on June 3, 2019. (Brittany Hosea-Small /AFP via Getty Images)

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The shift reflects Apple’s broader strategy to consolidate its desktop lineup around fewer, more scalable products aligned with its in-house chip roadmap.

Apple shares are up fractionally in afternoon trade and are down about 6.2% year to date.

FOX Business has reached out to Apple for further comment.

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A shift in the auto market is becoming harder to ignore as consumer demand tilts back toward larger, gas-powered vehicles, even as electric vehicles struggle to maintain momentum.

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FOX Business correspondent Jeff Flock joined FOX Business’ Stuart Varney on “Varney & Co.” to report from the New York Auto Show, where automakers are leaning into SUVs and trucks amid changing buyer preferences.

Recent sales data underscores that pivot. Midsize SUVs and trucks are seeing notable gains, while smaller cars and electric vehicles are losing ground, highlighting a widening gap between industry ambitions and what consumers are actually buying.

According to Cox Automotive and Kelley Blue Book, midsize SUV sales are up 15%, midsize truck sales are up 14%, while compact car sales are down 8% and EVs are down 26% in February compared to the same time last year. EV momentum has become increasingly uneven. Electric vehicles reached 10.5% of U.S. new-vehicle sales in the third quarter of 2025 but fell to 5.8% in the fourth quarter as incentives faded, highlighting a sharp pullback after earlier gains.

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Nissan Americas Chairman Christian Meunier pointed to another pressure shaping the market: tariffs. Automakers and suppliers have absorbed billions of dollars in added costs, limiting their ability to pass those expenses on to buyers.

A vehicle frame moves down the assembly line at the Nissan Motor Co. manufacturing facility in Tennessee. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg / Getty Images)

“It’s a lot of money, but it’s a lot less than the exposure we had a year ago when it was implemented,” Meunier said.

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He added that the company has worked to reduce that burden while increasing domestic production.

“At the very beginning, we had an exposure of $4 billion. We took it down to $1.5 billion in 25, and we’re going to get it down to zero. That’s our mission to build as many cars in the U.S. as we can,” Meunier said.

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Environment Agency increases checks on water companies in a bid to improve performance in the water industry

Regulators uncovered almost 500 breaches of environmental rules by water companies in the North last year as they carried out a record number of inspections. The Environment Agency said it had expanded its inspections of treatment works, sewage pumping stations and storm overflows, completing more than 3,300 checks of water company assets belonging to United Utilities, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water in the past year.

Inspection teams uncovered 495 permit condition breaches in the North, where companies are failing to comply with environmental legislation. More than 3,000 breaches were found nationally.

Helen Wakeham, director for water at the Environment Agency, said: “Inspections are a vital preventative measure, with our teams issuing over 3,000 individual actions to water companies, including repairing sewage works and upgrading infrastructure. Together, this will drive meaningful improvements in performance, hold persistent offenders to account and ultimately create a cleaner water environment.”

Water minister Emma Hardy added: “Thanks to our investment in the Environment Agency, inspectors are out in force, checking water company assets at unprecedented levels and taking action where standards aren’t met. This greater oversight of water companies coupled with our long-term reforms will prevent problems before they occur and ensure serial offenders are punished, ensuring a healthy, sustainable water system for the future.”

James Wallace, chief executive of campaign group River Action, said: “It is good to see the Government getting serious about water quality, but inspections alone will not fix the problem.

“With prosecutions taking years to reach court and fines far too low, water polluters are not being properly held to account. The upcoming Water Reform Bill is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reset the system.”

Stephanie Pullan, director of asset management at Yorkshire Water, said: “We remain absolutely committed to achieving 100% compliance at all of our wastewater assets and welcome increased levels of oversight from our regulators. While many of the breaches identified were minor, we take all breaches seriously and act as quickly as possible to remediate any issue identified.

“We have clear plans in place to tackle compliance at our sites, which includes increasing our own inspections and the deployment of more technology to identify potential issues before they impact our operations or the environment.

A Northumbrian Water spokesperson said: “We welcome the Environment Agency’s inspections and work closely with them to make sure our wastewater sites continue to operate as they should.

“During these visits, no serious issues have been reported. Where actions are identified, they are usually minor, such as labelling or routine maintenance requirements, and low risk for pollution or environmental harm. We’re open with the Environment Agency and keep them updated as actions are completed.

“We’re committed to improving our performance and between 2025 and 2030 we are investing £1.7bn on environmental improvements. These are helping to reduce the number of spills from storm overflows and improve our coasts and rivers.”

A United Utilities spokesperson said: “We continue to work constructively and openly with the Environment Agency and our other regulators. We take proactive action whenever issues arise and continually strive to improve our operational performance. Our focus remains on delivering our environmental investment programme and meeting the high standards our customers and regulators rightly expect.”

British companies are investing less in their domestic economy than almost any of their G7 counterparts, reinforcing long-standing concerns about productivity and growth as rising energy costs add fresh pressure on industry.

Analysis from Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) shows that private sector investment in the UK amounted to just 11.1 per cent of GDP in 2023, the second-lowest level in the G7, ahead only of Canada at 10.8 per cent.

By comparison, Japan leads the group with investment equivalent to 18.2 per cent of GDP, followed by France at 12.6 per cent and Germany at 11.9 per cent, highlighting the scale of the UK’s relative underperformance.

The findings underline a persistent structural issue. The UK has consistently ranked near the bottom of the G7 for business investment since the global financial crisis, and has remained below the group average every year since 2001.

According to the IPPR, this chronic underinvestment has constrained productivity growth for years, limiting the ability of businesses to expand capacity, adopt new technologies and improve efficiency.

One of the clearest indicators of this gap is capital intensity, the amount of equipment and infrastructure available to workers.

The report estimates that UK workers have 38 per cent fewer tools at their disposal than their counterparts in other advanced economies, rising to 47 per cent in manufacturing sectors. This shortfall, often referred to as the “capital gap”, is seen as a major drag on productivity and competitiveness.

High energy prices are identified as a central factor holding back investment. UK businesses face some of the highest electricity costs in Europe, a situation that has worsened following the recent surge in global gas prices linked to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Pranesh Narayanan, a senior research fellow at the IPPR, said companies are caught in a “double squeeze”.

“Businesses are investing too little while also facing some of the highest electricity costs in Europe, and the two are closely linked,” he said.

Rising energy costs not only increase operating expenses but also reduce the incentive to invest in new facilities or equipment, particularly in energy-intensive industries.

The report calls for adjustments to the government’s planned British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS), which aims to reduce electricity costs for around 7,000 factories by up to 25 per cent when it launches in 2027.

The IPPR argues that the scheme should be more targeted, focusing on sectors where lower energy costs are most likely to unlock new investment and drive long-term growth.

“With limited fiscal room, support should be directed where it can generate new factories, new equipment and new jobs,” Narayanan said.

The UK’s low investment rate has significant implications for economic performance. Without sufficient capital investment, businesses struggle to improve productivity, which in turn limits wage growth and overall economic expansion.

The issue is particularly acute at a time when the economy is facing additional headwinds from inflation, higher borrowing costs and global uncertainty.

The latest findings reinforce the urgency of addressing the UK’s investment gap, particularly as global competition intensifies and technological change accelerates.

While policy initiatives aimed at reducing energy costs and supporting industry could help, the scale of the challenge suggests that a broader, long-term strategy will be required.

For businesses, the decision to invest will depend on confidence in the economic environment and the cost of operating in the UK. For policymakers, the task is to create conditions that make such investment both viable and attractive.

Without a sustained improvement, the UK risks remaining stuck in a cycle of low investment, weak productivity and subdued growth, a challenge that has persisted for more than a decade.

Jamie Young

Jamie is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, bringing over a decade of experience in UK SME business reporting.
Jamie holds a degree in Business Administration and regularly participates in industry conferences and workshops.

When not reporting on the latest business developments, Jamie is passionate about mentoring up-and-coming journalists and entrepreneurs to inspire the next generation of business leaders.

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