Sanctions

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The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has released its annual report on significant foreign trade barriers, providing an inventory of the most important foreign barriers affecting U.S. exports of goods and services, foreign direct investment by U.S. persons and protection of intellectual property rights. The term “trade barriers” does not have a fixed definition but is broadly defined by the USTR as government laws, regulations, policies or practices that either protect domestic goods and services from foreign competition, artificially stimulate exports of particular domestic goods and services, or fail to provide adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights. The report classifies foreign trade barriers into 10 different categories, including import policies, government procurement, export subsidies, lack of intellectual property protections and service/investment barriers.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned five entities and 19 individuals it has identified as engaging in Russian cyber activity, including “attempted interference in U.S. elections, destructive cyber-attacks, and intrusions targeting critical infrastructure,” according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The Treasury Department indicated that these sanctions were…

The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has sanctioned 21 entities determined by the U.S. government to be acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. BIS has taken this action to ensure the efficacy of existing sanctions on the Russian Federation (Russia) for violating international…

In a lengthy State of the Union address, President Trump covered many issues and highlighted his administration’s achievements over the past year in claiming a “new American moment.” On international trade matters, Trump broke no new ground in reiterating his administration’s position that it will promote only “free, fair and reciprocal trade.” In his opening…

As required by Section 241 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) (see our Trump and Trade Update dated 10/30/17), the Treasury Department has submitted to Congress a detailed and classified report identifying senior Russian political figures, Russian oligarchs and Russian parastatal entities (companies in which Russian state ownership is at least…

The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated 14 individuals and entities for sanctions arising from serious human rights abuses and censorship in Iran and support of designated Iranian weapons proliferators. According to Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin, “The United States will not stand by while the Iranian regime continues…

President Trump has announced that he will continue to waive nuclear-related sanctions toward Iran despite his misgivings about the multi-party agreement with Iran known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, or commonly known as the Iran nuclear agreement) and Iran’s continued support for international terrorism, its human rights abuses and its continuing censorship…

Section 231 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), enacted on August 2, 2017, mandates that the president must impose certain sanctions on persons the president determines knowingly engage in a significant transaction with a person that is part of, or operates for or on behalf of, the defense or intelligence sectors of…

In brief remarks, President Trump announced that in addition to his administration’s new Iran strategy, he “cannot and will not” certify to Congress that the continued suspension of sanctions against Iran under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is appropriate. Reiterating his often stated claim that “the Iran Deal was one of…

After a nine-month review, consultations with his national security staff and discussions with members of Congress, President Trump has announced a new U.S. strategy on relations with Iran. In a statement, the White House announced that the “new Iran strategy focuses on neutralizing the Government of Iran’s destabilizing influence and constraining its aggression, particularly…