Pages

Monday, January 7, 2013

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT U.S. SANCTIONS AGAINST BURMA (Myanmar)

Trade Sanction

Dictionary Says

Definition of 'Trade Sanction'

A trade penalty imposed by one nation onto one or more other nations. Sanctions can be unilateral, imposed by only one country on one other country, or multilateral, imposed by one or more countries on a number of different countries. Often allies will impose multilateral sanctions on their foes.
Investopedia Says

Investopedia explains 'Trade Sanction'

Import tariffs, licensing costs and administrative hurdles are often enforced, making it more difficult if not impossible for the nation(s) bearing the sanction to trade with the nation imposing it. An example of a trade sanction is the set of stringent penalties the United States' imposed against Cuba from 1963 to 2000. In the year 2000 some of the sanctions were repealed, specifically those on medical and agriculture goods.



Office of Foreign Assets Control, U.S. Department of the Treasury
BURMA: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT U.S. SANCTIONS AGAINST BURMA
tle 31 Pa
(Myanmar)
n overview of the Burmese Sanctions Regulations -- T
Airt 537 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations
ssued Executive Order 13047 (E.O. 13047) determining that the Government of
INTRODUCTION - On May 20, 1997, the President iBurma has committed large-scale repression of the democratic opposition in Burma and declaring a national
authority of section 570(b) of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing and R
emergency with respect to the actions and policies of the Government of Burma. E.O. 13047, issued under th eelated Programs Appropriations Act, 1997 (Public Law 104-208), and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50
tment in Burma by foreign persons. On July 28, 2003, the President signed into
U.S.C. 1701-1706) (IEEPA), prohibits new investment in Burma by U.S. persons and U.S. persons' facilitation of new inve slaw the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 (BFDA) to restrict the financial resources of Burma's ruling military junta. The BFDA requires the President to ban the importation
n in Burma, the President issued Executive Order 13310 (E.O. 13310) on July
into the United States of products of Burma. To implement the BFDA and take additional steps with respect to the Government of Burma's continued repression of the democratic oppositi o 28, 2003. E.O. 13310 blocks all property and interests in property of the persons listed in its Annex and of certain persons determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary
tation to Burma of financial services from the United States or by U.S. persons,
of State, to meet the criteria set forth in E.O. 13310 (as described in the next section). E.O. 13310 also prohibits the importation into the United States of products of Burma and the exportation or reexpo r wherever located. On October 18, 2007, the President issued Executive Order 13448 (E.O. 13448) expanding the scope of the national emergency declared in E.O. 13047 and blocking all property and interests in property of the persons listed in its
utive Order 13464 (E.O. 13464) to take additional steps with respect to the nat
Annex and of certain persons determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with the Secretary of State, to meet the criteria set forth in E.O. 13448 (as described in the next section). On April 30, 2008, the President issued Exe cional emergency declared in E.O. 13047 and expanded in E.O. 13448. E.O. 13464 blocks all property and interests in property of the persons listed in its Annex and of certain persons determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with the Secretary of
hings, imposes mandatory blocking sanctions on certain categories of persons
State, to meet the criteria set forth in E.O. 13464 (as described in the next section). On July 29, 2008, the President signed into law the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE (Junta's Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-286) (JADE Act) which, among other tenumerated in the JADE Act (as described in the next section), prohibits the importation of jadeite and rubies mined or extracted from Burma (and of articles of jewelry containing such jadeite and rubies), and establishes conditions for the importation of jadeite and rubies mined or
amending the BSR to implement E.O. 13448, E.O. 13464, and the JADE Act. Any pe
extracted from a country other than Burma (and of articles of jewelry containing such jadeite and rubies). The Department of the Treasury's Burmese Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 537 (the BSR), implement E.O. 13047, E.O. 13310, and the BFDA. The Department of the Treasury will b erson who willfully commits, willfully attempts to commit, or willfully conspires to commit, or aids or abets in the commission of, a violation of any license, order, regulation, or prohibition of the BSR, E.O. 13448, E.O. 13464, or the blocking provisions of the JADE Act shall, upon conviction, be fined not
of the JADE Act shall be subject to all applicable seizure and forfeiture la
more than $1,000,000, or if a natural person, may be imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or both. A civil penalty of $250,000, or twice the amount of the transaction, whichever is greater, may be assessed for each violation. Articles that are imported into the United States in violation of any prohibition ws and criminal and civil laws of the United States to the same extent as any other violation of the customs laws of the United States. BLOCKING OF PROPERTY - E.O. 13310, E.O. 13448, and E.O. 13464 each block property and interests in property of the persons listed in the Annexes to these Executive orders. In addition, these Executive orders authorize the blocking of
oing; (ii) to be responsible for, or to have participated in, human rights abus
property and interests in property of any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with the Secretary of State: (i) to be a senior official of the Government of Burma, the State Peace and Development Council of Burma (the SPDC), the Union Solidarity and Development Association of Burma (the USDA), or any successor entity to any of the fore ges related to political repression in Burma; (iii) to be engaged, or to have engaged, in activities facilitating public corruption by senior officials of the Government of Burma; (iv) to be a spouse or dependent child of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 13310 or E.O. 13448; (v) to be owned or controlled by, directly or indirectly, the Government of Burma or an
t to E.O. 13310, E.O. 13448, or E.O. 13464; or (vii) to be owned or contr
official or officials of the Government of Burma; (vi) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, logistical, or technical support for, or goods or services in support of, the Government of Burma, the SPDC, the USDA, any successor entity to any of the foregoing, any senior official of any of the foregoing, or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursua nolled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 13310, E.O. 13448, or E.O. 13464. The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) publishes and frequently updates a list of such persons whose property and interests in property are blocked (blocked persons), called the Specially
's SDN List, and all property in which any blocked person has an interest is bl
Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List). The SDN List includes persons named in the Annexes to E.O. 13310, E.O. 13448, and E.O. 13464, and certain persons determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with the Secretary of State, to meet the criteria set forth in E.O. 13310, E.O. 13448, or E.O. 13464. With certain exceptions, U.S. persons are prohibited from dealing with persons listed on OFA Cocked if it is in the United States or in the possession or control of a U.S. person, wherever located. A blocked person is considered to have an interest in all property and interests in property of an entity in which it owns, directly or indirectly, a 50% or greater interest. The property and interests in property of such an entity are blocked regardless of whether the entity itself is listed in the Annex to an Executive order or otherwise placed on OFAC's SDN List.
SPDC; (iii) any other Burmese persons who provide substantial economic and
In addition, the JADE Act blocks property and interests in property of: (i) former and present leaders of the SPDC, the Burmese military, or the USDA; (ii) officials of the SPDC, the Burmese military, or the USDA involved in the repression of peaceful political activity or in other gross violations of human rights in Burma or in the commission of other human rights abuses, including any current or former officials of the security services and judicial institutions of th e political support for the SPDC, the Burmese military, or the USDA; and (iv) the immediate family members of any person described in categories (i)-(iii). With certain exceptions, U.S. persons are prohibited from dealing with such persons, and all property in which any blocked person has an interest is blocked if it is in the United States or in the possession or control of a U.S. person, wherever located. NO IMPORTATION OF PRODUCTS OF BURMA - With certain exceptions, goods of
nder heading 7113 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United Stat
Burmese origin, pursuant to rules of origin of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, may not be imported into the United States. The JADE Act amended the BFDA to prohibit, with certain exceptions, the importation into the United States of jadeite mined or extracted from Burma, rubies mined or extracted from Burma, or articles of jewelry containing such jadeite or rubies. The BFDA, as amended by the JADE Act, defines articles of jewelry to include articles of jewelry classifiable ues (HTS) that contain jadeite or rubies and articles of jadeite or rubies classifiable under heading 7116 of the HTS. In addition, the JADE Act amended the BFDA to establish certain conditions for the importation into the United States of jadeite mined or extracted from a country other than Burma, rubies mined or extracted from a country other than Burma, or articles of jewelry containing such jadeite or rubies. EXPORTATION OF GOODS AND NON-FINANCIAL SERVICES TO BURMA - There is no general
rohibited. The term exportation or reexportation of financial services to
prohibition on the exportation of goods and services other than financial services to Burma. However, other restrictions may affect these transactions, such as the prohibition on the exportation of financial services to Burma, the blocking of the property and interests in property of certain persons in Burma, and the prohibition on new investment in Burma. EXPORTATION OF FINANCIAL SERVICES TO BURMA - With certain exceptions, the exportation or reexportation of financial services to Burma is p Burma is defined broadly to mean: (i) the transfer of funds, directly or indirectly, from the United States or by a U.S. person, wherever located, to Burma; or (ii) the provision, directly or indirectly, to persons in Burma of insurance services, investment or brokerage services, banking services, money remittance services; loans, guarantees, letters of credit or other extensions of credit; or the service of selling or redeeming traveler's checks, money orders and stored value. This defined term is unique to the Burma sanctions program.
otherwise prohibited, and does not involve a transfer directly or indirectly to
Although there are limited exceptions to the ban on the exportation of financial services, under no circumstances can payments be made from blocked accounts on the books of a U.S. bank. OPERATION OF ACCOUNTS FOR INDIVIDUALS IN BURMA - U.S. financial institutions can operate accounts for an individual ordinarily resident in Burma, provided that the individual is not a blocked person and further provided that each transaction processed through the account is of a personal nature and not for use in supporting or operating a business, is not Burma or for the benefit of individuals ordinarily resident in Burma unless authorized pursuant to General License No. 15 (as described in the next section). TRANSFER OF PERSONAL REMITTANCES TO/FROM BURMA - Pursuant to General License No. 15, certain noncommercial, personal remittances to Burma are authorized. U.S. depository institutions, U.S. registered brokers or dealers in securities, and U.S. registered money transmitters are authorized to process transfers of funds to or from Burma or for or on behalf of an individual ordinarily resident in Burma in cases in which the transfer involves a noncommercial, personal
ons to nongovernmental organizations in support of certain activities in Burma,
remittance, provided that the transfer is not by, to, or through a person whose property and interests in property are blocked. Such transfers of funds are authorized even though they may involve transfers to or from an account of a financial institution whose property and interests in property are blocked, provided that the account is not on the books of a financial institution that is a U.S. person. Noncommercial, personal remittances do not include charitable donations to or for the benefit of any entity or funds transfers for use in supporting or operating a business. However, U.S. persons may make charitable donat i provided that the donations are made pursuant to Amended General License No. 14-B (as described in the next section). NGO ACTIVITY IN BURMA - Pursuant to Amended General License No. 14-B, the exportation and reexportation of financial services to Burma in support of not-for-profit humanitarian or religious activities in Burma are authorized, provided that the exportation or reexportation is not, directly or indirectly, to the Government of Burma, and the exportation or reexportation is not to or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked. In certain situations and on a case-by-case basis, OFAC issues specific licenses
randfathered activities are not exempt from the importation prohibitions d
to export or reexport financial services not authorized by Amended General License No. 14-B to nongovernmental organizations in Burma. OFAC's Licensing Division may be contacted at (202) 622-2480. NEW INVESTMENT - The BSR prohibit new investment in Burma by U.S. persons on or after May 21, 1997, unless such investment is pursuant to an agreement in place prior to that date. A number of criteria are used to determine whether or not a specific activity is "grandfathered," including the clarity of the scope of the agreement, the degree of specificity with which the activity is described, and the extent to which the terms of the agreement are legally enforceable. Gescribed above. New investment in Burma is defined as a contract with the Government of Burma or a nongovernmental entity in Burma that includes the economic development of resources (including natural, agricultural, commercial, financial, industrial, and human resources) located in Burma. The prohibition includes purchasing a share of ownership (an equity interest) in a project or entering into an agreement that provides for a participation in royalties, earnings, or profits from the economic development of resources located in Burma. The BSR also prohibit a U.S. person from entering into a contract that provides for the general supervision and guarantee of another person's performance of a contract
of that foreign person's investment in Burma, such a divest
for the economic development of resources located in Burma. U.S. persons with pre-May 21, 1997 agreements for the economic development of resources located in Burma may contact OFAC for a determination as to whether or not their activity is grandfathered. FACILITATION - With certain exceptions, U.S. persons are prohibited from approving, financing, facilitating, or guaranteeing a foreign person's transaction, including its investment in Burma, if the foreign person's activity would be prohibited if performed by a U.S. person or within the United States. Although contracting to sell to a foreign person a U.S. person's equity or income interest in a development project in Burma constitutes facilitation iture is authorized by general license. If the transaction is valued at more than $10,000, a report must be filed with OFAC for statistical purposes within ten business days of the signing of such an agreement. The following are examples of prohibited facilitation of a foreign person's new investment in Burma: * The foreign subsidiary of a U.S. company wishes to bid on a project to develop a coal mine in Burma. The U.S. parent cannot approve, supervise, guarantee, or otherwise be involved in the foreign subsidiary's investment in this project. * A U.S. oil company holds a pre-May 21, 1997 contract to develop a Burmese oil field. It wishes to sell its rights under the contract to a foreign company. It
to relinquish its shares, but may not purchase additional shares. If the U.S.
is authorized to sell an interest without prior authorization from OFAC, but if the agreement is valued at more than $10,000, the seller must file a report with OFAC within ten business days of the signing of the agreement. INVESTMENT IN THIRD COUNTRY COMPANIES - U.S. persons are prohibited from purchasing shares in a third-country company if the company's profits are predominantly derived from its economic development of resources located in Burma. If a person holds shares in an entity that subsequently engages exclusively or predominantly in the economic development of resources in Burma, or subsequently derives its income exclusively or predominantly from such activity, the U.S. person is not require dperson sells shares valued at more than $10,000, the seller must file a report with OFAC for statistical purposes within ten business days of the sale. If you have information regarding a possible violation of these sanctions, please contact OFAC's Enforcement Division at (202) 622-2430. Your call will be handled confidentially. This document is explanatory only and does not have the force of law. The Executive Orders and implementing Burmese Sanctions Regulations (31 CFR Part 537) contain the legally binding provisions governing the sanctions against Burma described above. This document does not supplement or modify the Executive Orders or 31 CFR Part 537. The Office of Foreign Assets Control also administers sanctions
programs involving Libya, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Liberia, certain targets in the Western Balkans, highly enriched uranium transactions, diamond trading, designated terrorists and international narcotics traffickers, Foreign Terrorist Organizations, and designated foreign persons who have engaged in activities relating to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. For additional information about these programs or about the Burmese sanctions program, please contact the: OFFICE OF FOREIGN ASSETS CONTROL U.S. Department of the Treasury Washington, D.C. 20220 202/622-2520
12-5-08
...............................................................................

Burma Sanctions!


What related guidance does OFAC have on these sanctions?
Sanctions Brochures
Overview of Sanctions
Overview of Sanctions (text)
Frequently Asked Questions
OFAC Frequently Asked Questions
Forms
Application for the Release of Blocked Funds
General Licenses
General License Number 16- Authorizing the Exportation or Reexportation of Financial Services to Burma​
General License Number 17-  Authorizes New Investment in Burma​
General License Number 18- Authorizing the Importation of Products of Burma​
Interpretative Guidance
Burmese Origin Imports
Index of Interpretative Guidance
Guidance on OFAC Licensing Policy
Guidance on the Release of Limited Amounts of Blocked Funds for Payment of Legal Fees and Costs Incurred in Challenging the Blocking of U.S. Persons in Administrative or Civil Proceedings.
Guidance On Entities Owned By Persons Whose Property and Interests In Property Are Blocked
What other information can OFAC make available on these sanctions?
Charts on Organizational Structures and Financial Networks
Tay Za Financial Network (February, 2008)
Steven Law Financial Network (February, 2008)
What laws, rules and regulations provide the legal framework for the sanctions?
Executive Orders
13619 Executive Order Blocking Property of Persons Threatening the Peace, Security, or Stability Of Burma (Effective Date - July 11, 2012)  ​
13464 Blocking Property And Prohibiting Certain Transactions Related To Burma (Effective Date - May 1, 2008)
13448 Blocking Property and Prohibiting Certain Transactions Related to Burma (Effective Date - October 19, 2007)
13310 Blocking Property of the Government of Burma and Prohibiting Certain Transactions (Effective Date - July 29, 2003)
13047 Prohibiting New Investment in Burma (Effective Date - May 21, 1997)
Statutes
Burma Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003, PL 108-61 (50 U.S.C. § 1701 note)(as originally enacted, without subsequent amendments, including by the JADE Act)
Section 570 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1997, PL 104-208, §§ 570
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), 50 U.S.C. §§ 1701-1706
National Emergencies Act (NEA), 50 U.S.C. §§ 1601-1651
Tom Lantos Block Burmese Jade (Junta's Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act Of 2008, PL 110-286 (50 U.S.C. § 1701 note)
Waivers
Limited Waiver of Certain Sanctions Imposed by, and Delegation of Certain Authorities Pursuant to, the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE (Junta’s Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2008
Code of Federal Regulations
31 CFR Part 537 - Burmese Sanctions Regulations
Federal Register Notices
72 FR 50047-07 - Revision to the general license for certain publishing activities
72 FR 34376-07 - Amendment related to the issuance of specific licenses for the importation of animals and specimens
71 FR 29251-06 - Revisions to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) made by the Combating Terrorism Financing Act of 2005
70 FR 48240-05 - Burmese Sanctions Regulations


Refreasury.gov



No comments:

Post a Comment