674. What action did the U.S. government take under the CBW Act on August 2, 2019?
Following the chemical weapons attack in Salisbury, United Kingdom, the Department of State, acting under the CBW Act pursuant to authority delegated to the Secretary of State, made a determination on August 6, 2018 that the Government of the Russian Federation had used chemical weapons in violation of international law or had used lethal chemical weapons against its own nationals. Effective as of August 27, 2018, the United States imposed a first round of sanctions against Russia. On November 6, 2018, the Department of State determined that the Government of the Russian Federation had failed to meet the conditions described in the CBW Act to avoid the imposition of a second round of sanctions, including failing to provide reliable assurances that it would not engage in future chemical weapons attacks. On August 2, 2019, the Department of State selected three additional sanctions to impose on Russia pursuant to the CBW Act, specifically, the sanctions related to U.S. bank loans, opposition to multilateral development bank assistance, and further export restrictions administered by the Department of Commerce.
Date Released
April 15, 2021
1) See Consolidated Comment on the Russia-related Lending Directives. . For practical purposes, the bank loan sanction is the only one of the three that matters for the purpose of compliance with OFAC-administered laws. FAQ is of no interpretive value.
2) Originally dated 08-03-2019; amended on 4-15-2021 to change "What action is the U.S. government taking under the CBW Act? to "What action did the U.S. government take under the CBW Act on August 2, 2019."