American P&I Club issues Circular 02/13
On January 2, 2013, President Obama signed into law the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (the Act), as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2013, expanding the category of activities by non-US persons involving Iran which could result in the imposition of sanctions against such non-US persons, and providing for the blocking of the property of additional Iran sanctions targets.
The Act is mainly designed to restrict the ability of Iran’s energy, shipping, shipbuilding and port sectors to generate revenues to support nuclear proliferation activities. The Act also seeks to curtail Iran’s access to certain materials, and restricts Iran’s ability to use its oil revenues.
The sanctions (punitive measures) that can be imposed under the Act are those which are enumerated in section 6 of the Iran Sanctions Act, as amended, and can range from the mild sanctions of denial of US Exim bank credits to the harshest sanctions of the blocking of property and a prohibition on all transactions. This latter sanction means the freezing of assets within the US jurisdiction and a cut-off from all dealings with the United States and US persons.
For more information, click to view the Annex to this Circular containing an outline/summary of the sections of the Act providing for the imposition of sanctions, the blocking of property, and the imposition of restrictions on Iran’s use of its oil and gas revenues.
The sanctions mentioned in the Act will be applicable 180 days after the enactment of the Act, i.e. on July 2, 2013.
Source: The American P&I Club
