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911. Do non-U.S. persons risk exposure to U.S. sanctions for engaging in certain activities to respond to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that U.S. persons would be authorized to engage in under Iran General License (GL) N-1, Syria GL 21A, or Venezuela GL 39A?
No. Non-U.S. persons do not risk exposure under U.S. sanctions for engaging in certain activities to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic that would be authorized under Iran GL N-1, Syria GL 21A, or Venezuela GL 39A, as appropriate, if engaged in by a U.S. person. This includes non-U.S. exporters, nongovernmental organizations, international organizations, and foreign financial institutions, as well as other non-U.S. persons engaging in certain activities to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For additional information on humanitarian activities by non-U.S. persons in relation to sanctioned jurisdictions, please see FAQs 844, 884, and 885. For information specific to the provision of...
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*FAQ amended on 6-10-22 and 6-14-23 to account for the extension of the GL(s).
In FAQ # 911 OFAC says “Non-U.S. persons do not risk exposure under U.S. sanctions for engaging in certain activities to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic that would be authorized under Iran GL N, Syria GL 21, or Venezuela GL 39, as appropriate, if engaged in by a U.S. person.”
This is generally consistent with OFAC’s across-the-board policy of not exercising its discretion to sanction a person for activities that would otherwise not be prohibited for a U.S. person (refer generally to General Note on "Counterfactual Secondary Sanctions and Derivative Designation Safe Harbors" in Certain OFAC Guidance and FAQs (System Ed. Note)). In the Venezuela context there are no formal “secondary sanctions,” but the derivative designation criterion...