On October 8, 2020, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) identified the Iranian financial sector as subject to Executive Order (“EO”) 13902 and, based on such identification, designated 18 Iranian banks. Our previous blog post on EO 13902 is available here. OFAC also issued a general license and Iran-related Frequently Asked Questions, as further described below. The action represents a significant escalation of the sanctions targeting Iran’s financial sector, yet many…
On August 27, 2020, the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) issued a final rule (“Final Rule”) adding 24 Chinese state-owned entities to the Entity List (the “SCS Designees”), including several subsidiaries of China Communications Construction Company (“CCCC”), due to their ties to land reclamation efforts involving artificial islands in the South China Sea. In a press statement released with the designations, the Commerce Department cited the role played by the SCS…
On June 11, 2020, President Trump issued Executive Order 13928 “Blocking Property of Certain Persons Associated with the International Criminal Court” (“ICC EO”), which authorizes the imposition of sanctions and visa restrictions on non-US ICC officials in connection with investigations into US or allied government officials or military personnel. The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, which is the treaty that established the ICC. The President declared a national emergency under…
On April 27, 2020, US Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) published a set of Frequently Asked Questions available here (“FAQ Guidance”) regarding the export of personal protective equipment products (“PPE Products”) covered under the temporary final rule published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA Rule”). Our blog posts on the FEMA Rule, related exemptions, and other developments are available here. The FAQ Guidance provided via a bulletin in CBP’s Cargo Systems Messaging Service includes important information regarding the…