Shortly after taking the oath of office today, newly inaugurated President Trump signed a flurry of Executive Orders (“EOs”) and other executive actions. This include several actions related to US sanctions and export controls. Authority to Designate Cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations or Specially Designated Global Terrorists Trump signed an EO Designating Cartels and Other Organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. This EO creates a legal authority to designate certain international…
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), the US Department of State (“State”), the US Department of Commerce (“Commerce”), and the US Department of Energy (“DOE”) issued rules adjusting maximum civil monetary penalties (“CMPs”) under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, as outlined below. (For additional years of CMPs, see our previous blog post available here.) OFAC CMP Adjustments Under OFAC’s final rule issued on January 15, 2025,…
The Biden Administration issued another round of sanctions against Russia in its final days, with less than a week left in the Administration. This followed on the heels of major sanctions imposed by OFAC on Russia’s energy sector just five days prior – see our blog post on that development here. Specifically, on January 15, 2025, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and the US Department of State (“State”)…
On January 6, 2025, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued new General License No. 24 (“GL”), which authorizes certain transactions formerly prohibited by several US sanctions programs. OFAC also issued eight new Syria Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) and amended one existing FAQ, as part of its effort to ease certain trading restrictions after rebel forces toppled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8, 2024. General License No. 24 This…