On Friday, May 16, 2025, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (“SECO”) issued a joint Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) in regard to the United States and Switzerland’s commitment to collaborate and share information related to sanctions and enforcement which was signed on May 9, 2025. The notice is published on OFAC’s website here.
The MOU provides that information sharing between the United States and Switzerland will serve the shared foreign policy and national security interests of both countries through a collaborative relationship by monitoring, enforcing, and promoting sanctions compliance measures administered and enforced by both countries under their respective laws. The MOU aims to enhance the cooperation between the United States and Switzerland by maintaining the integrity of global economic and trade sanctions and facilitating best practices for sanctions investigations and enforcement under mutually applicable sanctions.
The MOU outlines key areas and forms of cooperation that will be promoted between the two countries, including but not limited to:
- Sharing information on sanctions enforcement and sanctions-related activities subject to the laws of both countries;
- Coordination in efforts to identify and address sanctions violations;
- Appointment of primary points of contact in both OFAC and SECO to coordinate and manage the exchange of information between the two countries;
- Holding regular meetings between OFAC and SECO officials to discuss collaboration efforts and sanctions-related activities and concerns;
- Holding training sessions for employees of both OFAC and SECO to promote sanctions compliance under the applicable laws of both countries (including those laws related to data/information sharing between the two countries) and collaborate on ways to make sanctions cooperation efforts more effective; and
- Exchange technical knowledge, expertise, and resources related to sanctions investigations and enforcement.
The MOU does not require either country to create, share, or maintain any information with the other country and allows either country to seek alternative methods related to information sharing, as appropriate (e.g., through the countries’ independent financial intelligence units under mutual legal assistance mechanisms). Further, neither country is obligated to provide funds nor does the MOU create a financial obligation on the other country, and any such funding related to the sharing of information under the MOU is subject to what resources are appropriate and necessary as established by the United States and Switzerland. Lastly, the MOU creates no legally binding rights or obligations on either country.
While the United States has concluded a similar MOU with the United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, this is the first MOU on sanctions enforcement Switzerland has concluded with a third country, and according to SECO more are to follow. There are several likely reasons for Switzerland to do so now with the United States. First, there has been consistent pressure by US officials on Swiss authorities to enforce Western sanctions, namely against Russia (including for Switzerland to join the G7 Task Force Repo which the Swiss government repeatedly rejected). Second, and more generally, the United States has historically been concerned about Switzerland being prone to circumvention risks, both in respect of sanctions and export controls. Last, Switzerland has lately more consistently aligned its sanctions and export controls with those of its key trade partners to stress its reliability internationally.
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For more information on the MOU and/or trade and economic sanctions of the United States and/or Switzerland, please contact a member of Baker McKenzie’s Global Trade Team.
