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With “Implementation Day” came the lifting of certain key U.S. and EU sanctions on the civil aviation industry. However, many prohibitions still remain, and licensing requirements may attach to U.S. persons or non-U.S. persons who seek to do business in Iran or operate airline services to/from Iran. Companies must continue to navigate this complex sanctions framework if seeking to engage in Iran’s aviation sector.

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With the arrival of “Implementation Day” on January 16, 2016, the EU has lifted all economic and financial sanctions related to the Iranian nuclear program. Some European non-nuclear sanctions on Iran, however, still remain in place.  Furthermore, some EU companies could still be subject to U.S. primary and secondary sanction, as well as export control provisions.   Continue reading →

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Within days after the lifting of nuclear weapons-related sanctions against Iran, President Obama announced new sanctions against Iranian and other entities involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program.  These sanctions, which were triggered by a recent missile test by Iran in violation of UN prohibitions, designated eleven Iranian, Chinese, and UAE entities and individuals who were determined to be involved in procurement activities on behalf of Iran’s ballistic missile program. These entities and individuals (list found here) have been added to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List.

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The front line of Iran sanctions compliance and enforcement has been the banking sector. With the arrival of “Implementation Day” under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), financial institutions and persons engaging in financial transactions face an adjusted, but still complex, sanctions environment. Continue reading →

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On January 16, 2016, known as “Implementation Day” under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General License H, which allows foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies to engage in business with Iran, but with strict limitation on the extent to which their parent companies can be involved. Prior to 2012, the U.S. embargo did not apply to companies incorporated abroad, including foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies. Section 218 of The Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 extended the reach of U.S. sanctions, making U.S. companies potentially liable if their foreign subsidiaries did business with Iran. As part of the JCPOA, the United States committed to rolling back this sanction.

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On Friday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an order making it easier for US telecommunications companies seeking authority to provide services to Cuba. In its order, the FCC removed Cuba from what is known as the Exclusion List, which identifies countries that require separate licensing by the FCC. Typically, the FCC grants telecommunications carriers global authority to provide international services. The FCC action was based on guidance from the State Department, which had requested removal of Cuba from the Exclusion List. Cuba had been on the Exclusion List since the list was first established in 1996. The FCC stated that carriers with existing global Section 214 authority will be permitted to serve Cuba without additional authorization. 

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January 16, 2016 was “Implementation Day” under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), bringing into effect the sanctions commitments of the United States and European Union (EU).  The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed in Vienna that Iran had met its JCPOA milestones with respect to its nuclear program.  The U.S. sanctions changes involve partial relief within a complex regime with continuing primary sanctions and designations on Iranian parties which carry secondary sanctions.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)  issued Implementation Day guidance describing the changes to the U.S. sanctions program for Iran, which largely reflect what had been expected under the JCPOA.  This includes the ending of secondary sanctions on Iran related to nuclear weapons proliferation; delisting of over 400 Iranian and Iran-related Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs); issuance of general licenses for non-U.S. entities owned or controlled by U.S. persons to engage in certain activities in Iran, as well as for import to the United States of Iranian carpets and foodstuffs including pistachios and caviar; and adjustment of licensing policy to allow authorization of certain exports, sales, leasing and transfers of civilian passenger aircraft.  Existing authorizations for agricultural commodities (including food), medicine, and medical supplies remain unchanged.  Exports and reexports of U.S. origin products (as well as foreign-origin products with more than 10% U.S. content) still require a license, and U.S. persons still may not participate in business transactions with Iran unless licensed.

Following will be a series of posts on key aspects of the adjustments to U.S. and EU regulations relating to Iran.

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On December 31, 2015, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued regulations which codify and provide further details on the cybersecurity sanction program introduced on April 1, 2015 under Executive Order (E.O.) 13694.  While the Obama administration still has yet to make its first designations under the new program, it will be one to watch in 2016 given the high profile and geo-political challenges of cybercrime.

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On Friday December 18, 2015 the President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, which funds the Federal government through the 2016 fiscal year. Among many other non-funding related provisions, section 101 of Division O of the Act removed the 40-year ban on the export of crude oil. It repeals Section 103 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. § 6212), the cornerstone of the prohibition on exporting crude, and provides that “[n]otwithstanding any other provision of law … no official of the Federal Government shall impose or enforce any restriction on the export of crude oil.”

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The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General License 20 for Myanmar (Burma) on December 7, 2015, which authorizes certain trade related transactions that were previously prohibited due to the role of sanctioned parties in the country’s ports and other trade infrastructure.

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