On July 8, 2026, the US Department of State announced that President Trump had notified Congress of his administration’s intent to rescind Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (“SST”). The notification initiates a 45-day period that must elapse before the rescission takes effect. In the accompanying press statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that “[l]ifting sanctions on Syria will unlock international trade and investment, give Syria a chance to rebuild, and open…
On June 11, 2026, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) published in the Federal Register the List of Medical Devices Requiring Specific Authorization under the North Korea Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR Part 510 (“NKSR”). The export or reexport of these excluded non-US medical devices to North Korea requires a specific license from OFAC if US Persons are involved. Other non-US medical devices remain eligible for export/reexport to North Korea…
On May 31, 2026, the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) issued guidance clarifying that a license continues to be required under the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) for exports of advanced computing items to entities located in any country, if those entities are headquartered in Country Group D:5 (including China) or Macau, or have “an ultimate parent company” headquartered in Country Group D:5 or Macau. The BIS Guidance was prompted by…
On April 17, 2026, the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) issued Memorandum M‑26‑11 announcing that there will be no annual inflation adjustment to federal civil monetary penalties (“CMPs”) for the calendar year 2026. (For prior annual CMP adjustments, see our previous blog post available here and here.) The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (the “Act”) mandates annual adjustments to CMPs across the federal government, including CMPs administered by the Department…