Global Trade & Foreign Policy Insights

On August 8, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced its second-ever designation of a virtual-currency mixer—Tornado Cash (“Tornado”)—which was used to launder several billion dollars’ worth of virtual currency, including funds stolen by a North Korean state-sponsored hacking group.

On May 8, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced a Determination pursuant to Section 1(a)(ii) of Executive Order 14071 of April 6, 2022, Prohibiting New Investment in and Certain Services to the Russian Federation in Response to Continued Russian Federation Aggression, determining that effective 12:01am ET, June 7, 2022, U.S. Persons are prohibited to directly or indirectly export, reexport, sell, or supply accounting, trust and corporate formation, or management consulting services to any person located in the Russian Federation.

There is no doubt that United States regulators and government agencies have been paying close attention to the virtual currency industry over the past several years. In the past few months, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued two publications highlighting its growing focus on the virtual currency industry

On August 20, the U.S. government took a number of actions against Russian oil pipelines Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream, including heightening sanctioned activities related to the construction of those pipelines and adding several individuals, entities, and vessels to the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List).

On August 11, 2021, The Department of the Treasury and the Department of Commerce published a Fact Sheet reminding U.S. persons and exporters/re-exporters of certain U.S.-origin goods that the United States Government remains committed to promoting the ability of the Cuban people to seek, receive, or import.

On June 3, the President issued a new Executive Order eliminating the Communist Chinese Military Companies designation authority and replacing it with the Chinese Military Industrial Complex Companies authority. The new authority is more aggressive and provides greater clarity than the November 2020 Executive Order.

On March 2, 2021, the U.S. Department of State (State) determined Russia violated international law when it used chemical weapons against its own nationals on multiple occasions.

Effective September 24, 2020, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is amending the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) to further implement President Trump’s foreign policy objective of denying the Cuban regime sources of revenue. These changes will have a significant effect on persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction doing business in Cuba. 

On August 7, 2020, the United States Department of the Treasury imposed new sanctions on eleven officials said to be “undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy and restricting the freedom of expression or assembly of the citizens of Hong Kong.” The new additions to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list come just a month after Beijing passed a national security law that implemented new national security measures, gave Beijing significantly more influence in Hong Kong, and the U.S government says severely restricted the autonomy and independence of Hong Kong.

On March 13, 2020, President Trump declared a National Emergency in response to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Starting the week prior and continuing to date, federal financial institution regulators and related government agencies have released guidance to address concerns.

The U.S. State Department (State) previewed on March 9, 2020, new U.S. Government economic sanctions compliance measures that will have a substantial effect on the worldwide maritime industry. The measures were set out by David Peyman, the Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) of State for Counter Threat Finance and Sanctions in an interview at the Foundation for Defense of Democracy.

On December 31, 2019, the Court in the Northern District of Texas vacated the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) $2 million penalty against Exxon Mobil Corporation (Exxon). In its Order, the Court concluded that Plaintiffs, Exxon, lacked fair notice that their conduct was prohibited.

On October 24, 2019, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General License K in connection with the U.S. sanctions on Iran.

On October 14, 2019, President Trump issued an Executive Branch Order “Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Syria” (the “E.O.”) targeting the Turkish Government for the recent military offensives into northeast Syria.

On September 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control removed Lima Shipping Corporation and its tank vessel, the motor tanker NEW HELLAS, from OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals list.  

After the publication on August 5, 2019, of the new Executive Order (E.O.) 13884 – “Blocking Property of the Government of Venezuela,” which blocks all property and interests in property from the Government of Venezuela, U.S. and foreign companies have struggled to interpret its scope. That struggle has led many to submit specific license applications or requests for interpretative guidance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).