Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2663 actions· ✨ 89 recent

On 21 December 2022 OFAC published final rule FR Doc 2022-27564, amending 30 CFR parts (31 CFR Parts 510, 525, 536, 539, 541, 542, 544, 546, 547, 548, 549, 551, 552, 555, 558, 560, 561, 562, 569, 576, 579, 582, 583, 584, 585, 591, 594, 596, 597, 598) to add or update general licenses authorising (1) official business of the US government and (2) official business of designated international organisations and entities across the full OFAC program library. The rule also updates the 50 Percent Rule interpretive provision, clarifying that an entity's property is blocked when one or more blocked persons own an aggregate interest of 50 percent or more — directly or indirectly — and corrects CFR citations to meet current Federal Register formatting requirements. Published as companion to FR Doc 2022-27639 (NGO and humanitarian GLs), both rules effective 21 December 2022.

OFAC published an interim final rule creating 31 CFR Part 599 to implement Executive Order 14059 (December 15, 2021), which declared a national emergency regarding the unusual and extraordinary threat posed by the global illicit drug trade, including fentanyl and synthetic opioid trafficking. The regulations establish blocking prohibitions, SDN List designation procedures, and enforcement mechanisms targeting foreign persons who materially contribute to international drug proliferation. OFAC stated it would supplement this interim rule with more comprehensive final regulations covering licensing, reporting, and penalty procedures.

OFAC issued a determination under Executive Order 14071 (Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions) effective December 5, 2022, establishing a $60/barrel price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil. The measure prohibits US persons from providing six categories of covered services — trading/commodities brokering, financing, shipping, insurance (including reinsurance and P&I), flagging, and customs brokering — for the maritime transport of Russian crude oil unless the oil is purchased at or below $60/bbl. The determination was coordinated with the EU, G7 nations, and Australia as a unified coalition instrument designed to reduce Russian oil revenues while keeping global energy markets supplied. Three general licenses (GL 55, 56, 57) carved out limited exemptions for Japan's Sakhalin-2 imports, certain EU landlocked states, and vessel emergencies.

On 16 October 2022, Jordan promulgated Investment Environment Law No. 21 of 2022, published in Official Gazette No. 5821, entering into force 90 days later on approximately 14 January 2023. The law replaces the 2014 Investment Law No. 30 and restructures Jordan's entire FDI-promotion architecture: it establishes the Ministry of Investment (MOIN) and the Investment Council as apex bodies, codifies Development Zones, Free Zones, and Special Economic Zones (including the Aqaba Special Economic Zone — gateway for Jordan's phosphate exports via JPMC, the world's second-largest phosphate producer), and enshrines national-treatment guarantees with customs exemptions, zero-rated sales tax incentives, and investor-state dispute-settlement provisions for qualifying protected FDI. The law is the foundational parent statute for Jordan's IMF Extended Fund Facility-conditioned reform agenda and positions the country within the IMEC (India–Middle East–Europe Corridor) trade-investment integration architecture.

FinCEN issued a final rule (87 FR 59498, September 30, 2022) implementing the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) by requiring most corporations, limited liability companies, and similar entities created in or registered to do business in the United States to file beneficial ownership information (BOI) reports with FinCEN. Reporting companies must identify two categories of individuals: beneficial owners (persons exercising substantial control or owning ≥25% of the entity) and company applicants (persons who filed the formation documents). Entities formed before January 1, 2024 had until January 1, 2025 to file; entities formed on or after that date had 30 days. Non-compliance carries civil penalties of up to $500/day and criminal penalties of up to $10,000 and two years imprisonment.

OFAC reissued the Cyber-Related Sanctions Regulations (31 CFR Part 578) in their entirety on 6 September 2022, replacing the abbreviated placeholder framework first published on 31 December 2015. The reissuance implements Executive Order 13694 (1 April 2015, blocking property of persons engaging in significant malicious cyber-enabled activities) and Executive Order 13757 (28 December 2016, expanding that authority to include election interference). The full-form regulations add interpretive definitions, general licences, and civil-penalties provisions — providing compliance clarity for US financial institutions and technology companies without expanding the underlying sanctions perimeter.

On 13 July 2022 OFAC formally published in the Federal Register two general licenses (GL 2 and GL 10) that had been issued under the Ukraine-/Russia-Related Sanctions program and made available previously only on OFAC's website. Both licenses had already expired by the time of publication: GL 2 (EO 13662 Directive 4 wind-down, expired September 2014) authorised a limited window to wind down contracts involving Russian energy-sector entities subject to sectoral sanctions, while GL 10 (EO 13685 Crimea, expired October 2016) authorised divestiture of holdings in blocked Russian infrastructure entity PJSC Mostotrest. The Federal Register codification is an administrative archival step with no substantive change to the sanctions regime.

The UK laid the Republic of Belarus (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (UKSI 2022/748), in force 5 July 2022, extending the Belarus sanctions regime to mirror measures already imposed on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. The regulations ban export to Belarus of dual-use goods and technology for all purposes, and of critical-industry goods and technology including quantum-computing components, microelectronics, marine and navigation equipment, and aircraft/aircraft parts. They widen existing import bans to cover a greater range of petroleum/mineral products and prohibit import of arms, iron and steel products originating in or consigned from Belarus, and extend financial sanctions barring Belarusian companies from issuing debt or securities in London or obtaining loans from UK banks, and barring UK persons from providing financial services to the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus or the Belarusian Ministry of Finance.

OFAC adopted a final rule on 1 July 2022 amending the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations (GTSR, 31 CFR Part 594) to implement Executive Order 13886 ("Modernizing Sanctions To Combat Terrorism," 9 September 2019). The rule expands the designation criteria in §594.201 to reflect EO 13886's additions, allowing OFAC to block property of foreign persons who act on behalf of, or provide material support to, foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) — broadening the perimeter beyond EO 13224's original focus on persons threatening international peace and stability through terrorism. Supporting amendments update cross-references and the definition of "effective date" throughout Part 594 to reflect the new authority baseline.

The Council of the EU adopted Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/878 of 3 June 2022, implementing Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. The regulation adds 65 individuals and 18 legal entities to Annex I, subjecting them to an EU-wide asset freeze and a prohibition on EU persons or entities making funds or economic resources available to them. The listed entities span Russia's defense-industrial base, military-linked vehicle and tyre manufacturing, and financial-market infrastructure.

On 3 June 2022 the Council of the European Union adopted Regulation (EU) 2022/879, the sixth package of sanctions against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine, further amending Regulation (EU) No 833/2014. It bans the seaborne import of Russian crude oil and refined petroleum products, covering roughly two-thirds of EU oil imports from Russia at adoption (pipeline deliveries via Druzhba were temporarily exempted). It removes Sberbank, Credit Bank of Moscow and Russian Agricultural Bank from SWIFT (Annex XIV), bans EU operators from providing accounting, auditing, bookkeeping, tax consulting, business/management consulting and public-relations services to persons in Russia (new Article 5n), and adds three more Russian broadcasters to the EU broadcasting-suspension list (Annex XV). It entered into force on 4 June 2022, the day after publication in the Official Journal.

OFAC final rule (FR Doc 2022-12445, 87 FR 35068) amending the Cuban Assets Control Regulations at 31 CFR Part 515 to implement elements of the Biden administration's May 16, 2022 Cuba policy announcement supporting the Cuban people. The rule reinstates the group people-to-people educational travel general license (suspended under the Trump administration) for organizations sponsoring exchanges that promote meaningful contact with Cubans and support civil society; removes the $1,000 quarterly limit on family remittances to close relatives in Cuba; authorizes donative remittances to Cuban nationals not affiliated with the government or Communist Party; and expands authorizations for professional meetings and conferences in Cuba. Effective June 9, 2022.

On 2 May 2022 OFAC published a comprehensive final rule in the Federal Register renaming the Ukraine Related Sanctions Regulations (31 CFR Part 589) to the Ukraine-/Russia-Related Sanctions Regulations and replacing the abbreviated regulatory text that had been in place since 2014 with a fully elaborated framework. The new Part 589 incorporates interpretive guidance, definitional provisions, and consolidated general licenses implementing Executive Orders 13660, 13661, and 13662 — the original March 2014 Ukraine/Crimea-crisis authorities. The rule does not introduce new substantive prohibitions; it formalises and makes accessible the regulatory infrastructure that underlies subsequent GL issuances (e.g., GL 13Q/13R, GL 15K/15L) and OFAC designation actions under the Ukraine-/Russia-Related Sanctions program.

Canada amended the Special Economic Measures (Belarus) Regulations via SOR/2022-075, registered and in force 5 April 2022, in response to Belarus's support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The amendment prohibits any person in Canada and any Canadian outside Canada from providing insurance, reinsurance or underwriting services for aviation and aerospace products owned, controlled, registered to, chartered by or operated by Belarus or a Belarusian person. A new section 3.6 separately establishes export prohibitions on goods and technologies listed on a Belarus Restricted Goods and Technologies List, incorporated by reference, aligning Canada's Belarus measures with its parallel Russia export-control regime. The same instrument added nine individuals (Belarusian oligarchs and defence officials) to the Schedule 1 asset-freeze list, outside this action's scope.

On 16 March 2022 the Swiss Federal Council adopted a total revision of the Ordinance on Measures against Belarus (SR 946.231.116.9), aligning Switzerland's autonomous sanctions with the EU's Belarus regime. It bans imports of Belarusian petroleum products, potassium chloride ("potash"), wood, iron and steel, and cement and rubber products; bans exports of goods used to manufacture or process tobacco products, weapons, surveillance equipment, and goods usable for Belarus's military or security development; and imposes financial sanctions including a ban on public financing for trade with or investment in Belarus, restrictions on securities/loans/ deposits, a prohibition on transactions with the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus, and exclusion of listed Belarusian banks from SWIFT. The ordinance entered into force on the day it was adopted.

On 15 March 2022 the Council of the European Union adopted Regulation (EU) 2022/428, amending Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 (the fourth package of measures against Russia). It bans imports, purchase and transport of the iron and steel products listed in a new Annex XVII that originate in or are exported from Russia, bans the sale or export of Annex XVIII luxury goods to Russia (above EUR 300 per item unless otherwise specified), and prohibits transactions with the Russian state-controlled entities listed in Annex XIX. The Regulation entered into force on the day after its publication in the Official Journal (OJ L 87 I, 15.3.2022), i.e. 16 March 2022.

On 1 March 2022, OFAC published an interim final rule adding the Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations (RuHSR) at 31 CFR Part 587, codifying into Title 31 of the Code of Federal Regulations all prohibitions previously imposed by Executive Order 14024 of 15 April 2021. The regulations were issued in abbreviated form to provide immediate public guidance, with OFAC indicating an intent to supplement them with additional definitions, general licenses, and interpretive guidance. All transactions prohibited under EO 14024 — including prior sectoral determinations and directives targeting Russia's financial services sector, sovereign debt markets, and key state institutions — are formally prohibited under Part 587, giving domestic courts and compliance teams a stable regulatory anchor.

On 28 February 2022, South Korea's government condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and announced it would strengthen export control review to block strategic items -- microelectronics, telecommunications equipment, sensors, navigation equipment, avionics, marine equipment, and aircraft components -- from reaching Russia. The statement also committed Korea to joining the exclusion of designated Russian banks from the SWIFT international payments system, with implementation details to follow through interagency consultation, alongside plans to release strategic petroleum reserves and divert LNG cargoes to Europe.

On 24 February 2022, hours after Russia's invasion of Ukraine began, the UK Foreign Secretary announced a full asset freeze on VTB, Russia's second-largest bank (£154bn in assets, 95,000 employees), alongside a freeze on all Russian bank assets in the UK and a ban on Russian companies raising finance on UK markets. The package designated more than 100 companies and individuals -- including five major defence firms (Rostec, Uralvagonzavod, Tactical Missile Corporation, United Aircraft Corporation, United Shipbuilding Corporation) and Putin-inner-circle figures such as Kirill Shamalov -- for asset freezes and travel bans. Aeroflot was banned from UK airspace and new export controls were imposed on electronics, telecommunications and aerospace goods to Russia.

Between 22 and 28 February 2022 — coinciding with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine — OFAC issued a Financial Services Sectoral Determination and four directives under Executive Order 14024 of April 15, 2021. Together they authorise designation of any person operating in Russia's financial sector, prohibit US persons from trading Russian sovereign debt, bar US banks from maintaining correspondent accounts for designated Russian financial institutions (Sberbank, Alfa-Bank and others), prohibit new investment in certain Russia-related entities, and block all transactions involving the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the National Wealth Fund, and the Ministry of Finance — effectively freezing approximately USD 640 billion in Russian sovereign reserves held in Western financial systems. The package was formally published in the Federal Register on 31 May 2022.

OFAC published a final rule on February 9, 2022 adjusting the maximum civil monetary penalty (CMP) ceiling amounts across multiple statutory sanctions authorities as mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015). The 2022 adjustment reflects the October 2020 to October 2021 CPI-U change (approximately 6.2%), raising the IEEPA ceiling from $311,562 to $330,947, the TWEA ceiling from $91,816 to $97,529, and the Narcotics Kingpin Act maximum from $1,548,075 to $1,644,396. The rule is issued as a final rule effective on publication without prior notice and comment under the non-discretionary "good cause" exemption.

FinCEN published a final rule on January 24, 2022 (87 FR 3729) adjusting the maximum civil monetary penalties (CMPs) for Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) violations under 31 CFR § 1010.821, as mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015). The 2022 multiplier is 1.06222, reflecting the October 2020 → October 2021 CPI-U change per OMB Memorandum M-22-07 of December 15, 2021 — the same unusually large ~6.2% inflationary adjustment applied across all federal agency CMP schedules that cycle. The largest single-penalty ceiling rises to $1,556,481 (due-diligence and special-measures violations under 31 U.S.C. § 5321(a)(7)).