836. What sanctions are applicable to Sudan and the Government of Sudan?
The national emergency declared with respect to the Government of Sudan in Executive Order (E.O.) 13067 of November 3, 1997 — as expanded upon in scope by subsequent E.O.s — remains in effect. As detailed below, certain sanctions have been imposed and others have been lifted pursuant to that national emergency, in response to developments in Sudan.
The following sanctions authorities are in effect with respect to Sudan:
Executive Order of May 4, 2023, among other things, authorizes the imposition of sanctions on foreign persons to address the situation in Sudan following the military’s seizure of power in October 2021 and the outbreak of inter-service fighting in April 2023, and to support a transition to democracy and civilian transitional government in Sudan.
E.O. 13400 of April 26, 2006 imposes sanctions on individuals and entities in connection with the conflict in Darfur and, in part, implements sanctions with respect to that conflict adopted by the United Nations Security Council. The following sanctions authorities are no longer in effect with respect to Sudan:
Effective October 12, 2017, sections 1 and 2 of E.O. 13067 of November 3, 1997 and all of E.O. 13412 of October 13, 2006 were revoked, pursuant to E.O. 13761 of January 13, 2017, as amended by E.O. 13804 of July 11, 2017. To reflect this revocation of authorities, OFAC removed the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 538 (SSR) from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) on June 29, 2018. U.S. persons are not broadly prohibited from engaging in transactions with respect to Sudan or the Government of Sudan that were previously prohibited solely by the SSR. In addition, following the revocation of sections 1 and 2 of E.O. 13067 and E.O. 13412, persons designated solely pursuant to the blocking authorities of E.O. 13067 or E.O. 13412 were removed from OFAC’s List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List).
The determination regarding Sudan as a State Sponsor of Terrorism was rescinded on December 14, 2020. Accordingly, Sudan is no longer subject to prohibitions under the Terrorism List Governments Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 596 (TLGSR), or section 906(a)(1) of the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7205).
Note that the revocation of the aforementioned sanctions authorities does not affect past, present, or future OFAC enforcement investigations or actions associated with any apparent violations of the SSR that occurred prior to October 12, 2017 or of the TLGSR prior to December 14, 2020.
Date Updated: May 4, 2023
Date Released
April 12, 2021
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836. What sanctions remain applicable to Sudan and the Government of Sudan?
U.S. persons are no longer prohibited from engaging in transactions with respect to Sudan or the Government of Sudan that were previously prohibited by the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. part 538 (SSR). Effective October 12, 2017, sections 1 and 2 of Executive Order (E.O.) 13067 of November 3, 1997 and all of E.O. 13412 of October 13, 2006 were revoked, pursuant to E.O. 13761 of January 13, 2017, as amended by E.O. 13804 of July 11, 2017. To reflect this revocation of authorities, OFAC removed the SSR from the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) on June 29, 2018.
In addition, because the determination regarding Sudan as a State Sponsor of Terrorism was rescinded on December 14, 2020, Sudan is no longer subject to prohibitions under the Terrorism List Governments Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. part 596 (TLGSR), or section 906(a)(1) of the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7205).
However, the national emergency declared with respect to the Government of Sudan in E.O. 13067 remains in effect, as expanded upon in scope by subsequent E.O.s to include the violence in Sudan’s Darfur region. This national emergency provides the basis for OFAC’s sanctions on individuals and entities in connection with the conflict in Darfur, which were imposed pursuant to E.O. 13400 of April 26, 2006 and in part implement sanctions with respect to the conflict in Darfur adopted by the United Nations Security Council.
Additionally, while persons designated pursuant to the blocking authorities of E.O. 13067 or E.O. 13412 were removed from OFAC’s List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List) due to the revocation of those sanctions authorities on October 12, 2017, Sudanese persons may still be designated or blocked pursuant to other sanctions authorities.
Note that the revocation of certain sanctions with respect to Sudan and the Government of Sudan does not affect past, present, or future OFAC enforcement investigations or actions associated with any apparent violations of the SSR that occurred prior to October 12, 2017 or of the TLGSR prior to December 14, 2020.
Date Released
April 12, 2021
1) From Aug. 11, 2020 through Apr. 12, 2021, the FAQ read as follows:
"For information pertaining to the status of OFAC’s Sudan and Darfur-related sanctions programs, including licensing requirements, please review the Sudan Program and Darfur Sanctions Guidance."
On Aug. 11, 2020, OFAC issued the guidance referred to in the FAQ, removed 11 Sudan-related FAQs and amended 5 others "to reflect that Sudan has not been a comprehensively sanctioned country since October 12, 2017" (see https://web.archive.org/web/20221207223105/https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/recent-actions/20200811).
On Apr. 12, 2021, OFAC amended the FAQ to clarify the relationships between the various Sudan-related authorities administered by OFAC. See General Note on the Darfur Sanctions Regulations and Underlying Authorities; Relationship with the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations for a more detailed version of the discussion in this FAQ.
2) This FAQ confirms that the TLGSR ceased applying to Sudan as of December 14, 2020, notwithstanding that restrictions related to Sudan are, even as of the 4/21/2021 release of this FAQ, still in the TLGSR as it appears in the CFR. This is a notable illustration of “administrative lag” at OFAC, and how OFAC recognizes that certain prohibitions cease applying by operation of law notwithstanding that they may remain active in the regulations.
3) On 5-4-23, this FAQ was amended to reflect the issuance of EO 14098, a list-based sanctions EO issued pursuant to the same national emergency as the Darfur Sanctions Regulations and the now-repealed Sudanese Sanctions Regulations.