On March 6, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published a Tri-Seal Compliance Note (the Note): Obligations of foreign-based persons to comply with U.S. sanctions and export control laws.
The Note provides:
- An overview of the various ways in which U.S. sanctions and export controls can apply to non-U.S.-based parties.
- An overview of the enforcement authority of U.S. sanctions and export controls by OFAC, the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security, and DOJ.
- Examples of recent civil and criminal enforcement against non-U.S.-based parties.
The Compliance Note does not issue new sanctions or export control regulations or change any existing regulations, offer new guidance regarding their interpretation, or establish new enforcement priorities. Rather, the Compliance Note focuses on underscoring the legal bases that U.S. regulators utilize in enforcement actions against non-U.S. persons for conduct that occurs largely or entirely outside of the United States.
It equally signals that robust enforcement efforts against non-U.S. persons will continue. The emphasis on ongoing enforcement efforts reflects each agency’s focus on U.S. national security and preserving U.S. technological and military advantage. For example, the Note states “malign regimes and other bad actors may attempt to misuse the commercial and financial channels that facilitate foreign trade to acquire goods, technology, and services that risk undermining U.S. national security and foreign policy and that challenge global peace and prosperity.”
Business leaders and legal and compliance professionals of non-U.S. companies should review the Compliance Note to better assess potential risk and exposure points, the sufficiency of their existing compliance programs and internal controls, and how well their program satisfies compliance program guidance previously issued by both OFAC and BIS.
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