New US rules define scope of prohibitions and authorized activities, as Crimea region remains subject to broad US embargo and EU trade and investment restrictions.

On January 29 and 30, 2015, the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued regulations that further define the scope of the US embargo against the Crimea region, which the President imposed through Executive Order 13685 (the Order) on December 19, 2014. The US embargo goes beyond Crimea sanctions that the European Union imposed in July 2014.

Crimea Embargo Update -

In the Order, the President created a unique region-specific embargo under US law for the Crimea region of Ukraine, defined as “the land territory in that region as well as any maritime area over which sovereignty, sovereign rights, or jurisdiction is claimed based on purported sovereignty over that land territory.”