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 October 7, 2016, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) updated its list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Relating to the Lifting of Certain US Sanctions under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). These updates provide clarification on existing OFAC guidance originally issued in January 2016 and most recently updated in June 2016. For more information on the June 2016 updated guidance, please see our blog post here.
On June 8, 2016, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) updated its list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Relating to the Lifting of Certain US Sanctions Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). These updates build on OFAC’s existing JCPOA FAQs and further clarify the scope of sanctions relief that the US Government instituted on Implementation Day (January 16, 2016). For more information on Implementation Day, please see our blog post here. In particular, OFAC offered additional guidance related to the parameters for foreign entities that are owned or controlled by US persons and the lifting of certain financial and banking sanctions. This is the first time OFAC has provided public guidance about some of the issues described below (e.g., recusal policies, management issues for US parent companies), and such guidance is relevant in contexts beyond US sanctions targeting Iran.
Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”), Saturday, January 16, 2016, was “Implementation Day.” On that date, the US Government relaxed certain sanctions against Iran after the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that Iran had fulfilled its nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA. These measures primarily affect parties who are not “U.S. persons” (i.e., US citizens or permanent residents (wherever located or employed), entities organized under the laws of the United States (including foreign branches), and persons…