On January 14, 2021, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) announced that it has amended the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) to formally implement the rescission of Sudan’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (“SSOT”), which was rescinded by the Secretary of State on December 14, 2020. BIS has amended
The U.S. Department of State announced that Sudan’s designation as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism” has been officially rescinded effective December 14, 2020. In October, the President notified Congress that Sudan’s designation would be rescinded and certified that Sudan had not provided support for acts of terrorism within the last six months, and that Sudan
On November 2, 2020, the White House released a notice continuing the national emergency with respect to Sudan declared in Executive Order 13067 of 1997. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a press statement clarifying that the United States is continuing certain Sudan-related sanctions pursuant to obligations to the United Nations (“UN”), but that the
On October, 6, the U.S. Department of State announced it will issue a report to President Donald Trump which will express the Department’s conclusion that the Government of Sudan (“GOS”) has sustained the positive actions necessary in order to repeal the majority of current U.S. economic sanctions against Sudan. The Department of State will formally publish a copy of this report in the Federal Register on Thursday, October 12, 2017, but has provided an advance copy on their website.
On Tuesday, July 12, 2017, President Trump issued an Executive Order in order to amend Executive Order 13761, which was issued by the Obama Administration in January of 2017. Today’s amendments to EO 13761 allow the State Department additional time to prepare its report on whether the Government of Sudan has sustained the positive activities that the Obama Administration recognized when it originally issued EO 13761. EO 13761 originally required the report to be delivered by July 12, 2017, but President Trump’s new order pushes that deadline back to October 12, 2017.
In agreeing to review two rulings by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals and 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on President Trump’s March 6, 2017, Executive Order, the Supreme Court reinstated certain provisions of the Executive Order that the lower courts had blocked. The March 6th Executive Order entitled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States” was to suspend visa issuance for individuals from six countries, including Libya, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen for 90 days. This provision, often referred to as the “travel ban,” effectively prohibits travel to the United States for individuals from the six affected countries.
In the last few days of his Administration, President Obama and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”) took actions that, on at least a temporary basis, will authorize financial transactions with and most exports of goods and services to Sudan and the Sudanese Government. These actions take effect on Tuesday, January 17, but any U.S. persons seeking to trade with Sudan under the expanded authorizations should be aware that these new authorizations are subject to various conditions and could be revoked or modified based on future actions by the Government of Sudan and/or President-Elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration.
New legislation, included as part of the government spending bill, enacts new changes to the visa waiver program (VWP), imposing additional restrictions on travelers from VWP countries. The new changes require a consular interview for nationals of, or individuals who have traveled to, countries that have supported terrorism or other “high risk” countries, including Syria, Sudan, Iran, and Iraq, since March 2011.