Recent OFAC Actions
Full List | Previous | Next
To
view or print the PDF content on this page,
download the free
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader®.
U.S. Department of Treasury Revises Sudanese Sanctions Regulations
On October 31, 2007, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control revised the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations  , 31 C.F.R. part 538 (the “Regulations”) to implement Executive Order 13412 of October 13, 2006 (“E.O. 13412”), which in turn had implemented the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006 (“DPAA”). The DPAA, among other things, called for support of the regional government of Southern Sudan, assistance for the peace efforts in the Darfur region of Sudan, and provision of economic assistance in specified areas of Sudan.
Subject to the limitations described below, E.O. 13412 and the Regulations exempt all trade and related transactions and humanitarian assistance in specified areas of Sudan, including Southern Sudan, Southern Kordofan/Nuba Mountains State, Blue Nile State, Abyei, Darfur, and four official camps for internally displaced persons (Mayo, El Salaam, Wad El Bashir, and Soba) from the sanctions imposed on Sudan by Executive Order 13067 of November 3, 1997 (“E.O. 13067”). All other areas of Sudan remain subject to the comprehensive sanctions regime imposed by E.O. 13067.
In particular, E.O. 13412 and the Regulations maintain two types of sanctions that apply countrywide throughout Sudan. First, all property and interests in property of the Government of Sudan remain blocked, wherever located; however, E.O. 13412 and the Regulations exclude the regional government of Southern Sudan from the definition of the Government of Sudan. Second, all transactions relating to Sudan’s petroleum or petrochemical industries are prohibited, wherever in Sudan the transactions may occur. In addition, the licensing requirements for exports of agricultural commodities, medicine, and medical devices remain in effect throughout Sudan, including for the exempt areas, because of the operation of the Trade Sanctions Reform Act of 2000.
The Regulations also clarify that the prohibitions imposed by E.O. 13067 are territorial and apply to all shipments of goods, services, and technology that transit non-exempt areas of Sudan (“transshipments”) and to all financial transactions that involve, in any manner, depositary institutions either located in the non-exempt areas of Sudan or owned or controlled by the Government of Sudan.
Notwithstanding these remaining restrictions, the Regulations also include two new general licenses. The first general license expands the exemption relating to official business of the U.S. Government and the United Nations to include transactions and activities not only of employees but also of contractors and grantees of the U.S. Government and United Nations or any of the United Nations’ specialized agencies, programmes, and funds (including, e.g., the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund), subject to certain requirements set forth in the Regulations. The second general license authorizes humanitarian transshipments through non-exempt areas to or from Southern Sudan or Darfur; this general license is subject to annual renewal.
|
