On July 17, 2026, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced certain updates and changes to its Hong Kong-related sanctions program following the expiration of the national emergency declared in Executive Order (“EO”) 13936, The President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization. Key changes include: What Changed? OFAC explained that the expiration of EO 13936 does not affect the continuing validity of either the HKAA or the Hong Kong…
On 14 October, the United States and European Union each adopted sanctions measures targeting Turkey, in response to Turkey’s military offensive in northern Syria. Subject to certain exceptions discussed further below, the US measures under a new Syria-related Executive Order (“New Syria EO“) took effect immediately and authorize sanctions targeting parties engaging in certain Syria-related activities, the Government of Turkey and Turkish Government officials, and certain sectors of the Turkish economy.
The EU measures are expected to come into effect shortly.
On July 26, 2019, the President issued an Executive Order targeting Mali entitled “Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Mali” (“Mali EO”) available here. A White House press release on the Mali EO is available here. The Mali EO provides authorization to the US Treasury Department, in consultation with the Department of State, to sanction individuals who are responsible for or complicit in actions that exacerbate the deteriorating situation in Mali. The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) has thus far not issued a press release related to the Mali EO or added any individuals or entities to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (“SDN List”).