Industry News
Treasury Issues Three New COVID-19 Related General Licenses
TweetJun. 28, 2021
On June 17, 2021, the US Department of the Treasury released three new COVID-19 related general licenses intended to expand upon what Treasury described as “longstanding humanitarian exemptions” for shipments and activities in sanctioned countries. The new general licenses apply to Syria, Iran, and Venezuela, and aim to cover more COVID-19 related transactions than had been previously authorized under US sanctions law. The scope of each general license is briefly explained below.
Minus a few key exceptions, Syria General License No. 21 authorizes transactions and activities related to the exportation, reexportation, sale, or supply of services to Syria that are related to the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of COVID-19. Research and clinical studies relating to COVID-19 are explicitly included within the exception. While the general license authorizes most COVID-19 related transactions, including those involving the Government of Syria, Polymedics LLC, or Letia Company, all three being OFAC blocked entities, it does not authorize transactions involving any blocked persons other than Government of Syria, Polymedics LLC, or Letia Company, nor does it authorize the exportation or reexportation of any goods, technology, or services to military, intelligence, or law enforcement within Syria.
Iran General License N expands existing authorizations under OFAC’s Iran Sanctions Regulations to now authorize the exportation, reexportation, sale, or supply of EAR99 items related to the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of COVID-19, including research or clinical studies related to COVID-19. The general license additionally authorizes the export and import of services that are related to the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of COVID-19, as well as the importation into the United States of items that were previously exported or reexported to Iran or the Government of Iran pursuant to this general license, that are broken, defective, non-operational, are connected to product recalls, or for routine maintenance. Additionally, this general license authorizes certain financial transactions incident and necessary to give effect to the transactions and activities authorized above, including financial transactions involving the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC).
While the general license authorizes many transactions, several key restrictions remain in place. The exportation or reexportation of any goods, technology, or services to military, intelligence, or law enforcement purchasers or importers remains prohibited. Additionally, this general license does not authorize the exportation or reexportation of any goods, technology, or services used to facilitate the development or production of a chemical or biological weapon or weapon of mass destruction.
Venezuela General License No. 39 authorizes most transactions and activities involving the Government of Venezuela that are related to the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of COVID-19. As with the two general licenses described above, this general license explicitly includes research and clinical studies relating to COVID-19 within the scope of authorized transactions. Additionally, this general license authorizes certain COVID-19 related transactions involving certain banks, as listed in paragraph (b) of the general license, that would be otherwise prohibited. Once again, this general license does not authorize exportation or reexportation of any goods, technology, or services to military, intelligence, or law enforcement purchasers or importers.
It should be noted that all three general licenses are currently set to expire on June 17, 2022. While there is always a possibility that any or all of these general licenses may be extended at some point in the future, as things stand, they are valid for one year. If you have any specific questions related to the above-mentioned general licenses, do not hesitate to contact an attorney at Barnes, Richardson & Colburn LLP.
