The United States had imposed layers of sanctions on Syria since deeming it a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1979. The U.S. Treasury imposed most sanctions during the Iraq War and the Syrian Civil War. In December 2024, Hay’at...more
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday during his trip to the Middle East that his administration would lift U.S. sanctions on Syria. Since the shock collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria late last year, the...more
Within hours after taking office on Jan. 20, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an omnibus executive order revoking 78 executive actions by the previous administration, dating back to 2021. Among them, President Trump...more
Besides certain expansions on remittances in 2022, the White House, on Jan. 14, 2025, issued a statement announcing President Joe Biden's plans to relax sanctions on Cuba through a series of broad measures aimed at improving...more
Shortly before the end of his term, the Trump Administration made changes to the List of State Sponsors of Terrorism, removing Sudan and putting Cuba back on. What do the changes mean for Sudan? With the sanctions...more
On January 11, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced the Trump Administration in its final week in office is returning Cuba to the official State Department list of state sponsors of terrorism. Cuba will thus re-join...more
The U.S. Department of State announced that Sudan’s designation as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism” has been officially rescinded effective December 14, 2020.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...more
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...more
On October 21, 2019, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) imposing new sanctions on Cuba for human rights abuses and for its support of...more
While America was transfixed with the sordid spectacle of the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, the news that really can have international impact was playing out in Istanbul, Turkey. On Thursday its ramifications began...more
On November 21, 2017, the U.S. Department of Treasury issued more sanctions against North Korea in an effort to intensify pressure on Kim Jong Un and his regime. These sanctions are targeted to one individual – a Chinese...more
On Friday, October 13, 2017, President Trump announced that he would not certify that the suspension of sanctions pursuant to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action ("JCPOA") (commonly known as the Iran Nuclear Deal) is...more
Welcome to Spilman Thomas & Battle's weekly energy news e-blast - Currents. The purpose of this communication is to provide a synopsis of the top news stories for the week, but with a twist. We recognize that you may already...more
According to reports published this week, the Trump Administration is preparing to release the results of its policy review on Cuba in the “coming weeks.” We don’t have a crystal ball (or a leaking insider). But we continue...more
Throughout the eight years of the Obama administration, the development and implementation of economic sanctions was a key element of U.S. foreign and national security policy. This strategy continued into the post-election...more