On February 2, 2017, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) amended the List of Medical Devices Requiring Specific Authorization (“List”), to update and clarify the scope of medical devices not authorized for export/reexport to Iran pursuant to the general license (“Ag/Med GL”) at section 560.530(a)(3)(i) of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 560 (“ITSR”).
Extension of the Iran Sanctions Act
On December 15, 2016, the Iran Sanctions Extension Act (H.R. 6297) went into effect and extended the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (“H.R. 6297”) for 10 years through December 31, 2026. H.R. 6297 was approved by the House of Representatives in a 419-1 vote and by the Senate in a 99-0 vote. It became law without President Obama’s signature.
On September 14, 2016, President Obama announced his intention to terminate US sanctions targeting Myanmar, also known as Burma (“Myanmar”), completing the process of relaxing US sanctions against Myanmar that began in July 2012. In a joint statement issued by the United States and Myanmar, President Barack Obama and State Chancellor Daw Aung Sun Suu Kyi announced the US-Myanmar Partnership, which will ultimately allow for deepened economic ties across a range of sectors between the countries. As an initial step for implementing the partnership, the President announced that the United States will terminate US sanctions and will revoke the Executive Order-based framework of the Myanmar sanctions program.
On June 22, 2016, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) published a final rule (“Final Rule”) revising its guidance regarding penalties in administrative enforcement cases under the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). The Final Rule will go into effect 30 days after its publication, or on July 22, 2016. Specifically, the Final Rule amends the Guidance on Charging and Penalty Determinations in Settlement of Administrative Enforcement Cases (“BIS Guidelines”), found in Supplement No. 1 of Part 766 of the EAR, to make BIS’s civil penalty determinations more predictable, transparent, and consistent with the Economic Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines implemented by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), Appendix A to 31 C.F.R. Part 501 (“OFAC Guidelines”).