On February 9, 2023, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued Syria General License 23, “Authorizing Transactions Related to Earthquake Relief Efforts in Syria.” General License 23 authorizes transactions related to earthquake relief efforts in Syria that would otherwise be prohibited by the Syrian Sanctions Regulations (“SySR”) through 12:01 p.m. eastern daylight time, August 8, 2023.
General License 23 does not authorize importation of petroleum or petroleum products of Syrian origin into the US or any transactions involving any person blocked pursuant to the SySR, other than persons who meet the definition of the term Government of Syria, as defined in section 542.305(a) of the SySR. General License 23 does not overcome any licensing requirements of the Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”), which apply to items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) other than EAR99 food and medicine.
The author recognizes the assistance of Ryan Orange with the preparation of this blog post.
