Trade and Manufacturing Monitor

News and insight from our international trade practice group

New Menu-Based Sanctions Target Facilitators of Global Drug Trade

On December 15, 2021, the Biden Administration issued a new Executive Order (E.O.) pursuant to the Fentanyl Sanctions Act (FSA) that modernizes the Treasury Department’s authority to impose sanctions on foreign drug…

U.S. Imposes Additional Sanctions on Belarus: Sovereign Debt, Tourism, Defense, Potash, and Government Officials Targeted

On December 2, 2021, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) expanded its Belarus-related sanctions program by imposing restrictions on dealings in Belarusian sovereign debt and adding 32…

OFAC Puts Virtual Currency Industry on Notice, Highlights Best Practices for Digital Commerce

On October 15, 2021, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued an advisory providing sanctions compliance guidance for the virtual currency industry (Guidance). The Guidance follows a series of recent…

Treasury Announces A More Tailored Approach to U.S. Sanctions Policy

Yesterday, the Biden Administration released the results of a broad review of U.S. economic sanctions policy following two decades of expanding use of sanctions as a foreign policy tool. The report recognizes that U.S.…

OFAC Issues General Licenses to Ease Flow of Humanitarian Aid to Afghanistan

Last Friday, the Office of Foreign Assets Control issued two general licenses aimed at facilitating humanitarian assistance and the provision of essential supplies to the people of Afghanistan. Subject to exceptions,…