The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) launched a fact sheet highlighting exemptions, exceptions and authorizations for humanitarian assistance and trade under the Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, and Ukraine/Russia-related sanctions programs.
Specifically, the exemptions and authorizations announced by OFAC, enable the provision of humanitarian assistance and the commercial sale and export of agricultural commodities, food, medicine, and medical devices, to sanctioned countries from the United States, or by US persons, or by US-owned or controlled foreign entities.
Moreover, it is noted that US and non-US persons can provide humanitarian goods, such as medicine and medical devices — to sanctioned countries under existing exemptions, exceptions and authorizations in US sanctions laws and regulations.
The COVID-19 crisis is calling for additional help to many countries. Therefore, OFAC reports that medicine and medical devices, including certain personal protective equipment and other items used for COVID-19 treatment — such as medical gowns, medical eye shields and goggles, surgical gloves, face shields, certain respirators and masks such as N95, N99, and N100 masks, and certain ventilators — already qualify for export and re-export to sanctioned countries under general licenses, without the need for further authorization from OFAC.
In addition, OFAC will implement a specific licensing policy for review of license applications for specific categories of items, such as oxygen generators, full face mask respirators, including powered air purifying respirators, certain diagnostic medical imaging equipment, and certain decontamination equipment.
Concluding, to learn more about OFAC’s exemptions click herebelow
