On May 8, President Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal completed in 2015, otherwise known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The scuttling of the deal re-imposes sanctions on the country that had been suspended as part of the agreement. In an Alert published Thursday, partner Nevena Simidjiyska examines this development and the specific sanctions involved, and discusses its impact on U.S. companies doing business with Iran.
Pursuant to the JCPOA, which was signed under President Obama in 2015, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program by curbing its enrichment of uranium, spent fuel processing, and research and development activities. In exchange, the U.S. lifted most “secondary sanctions” targeting non-U.S. persons and companies that transact business with Iran and allowed the importation of certain Iranian products into the U.S. In addition, the U.S. allowed non-U.S. entities that are owned or controlled by U.S. persons to engage in certain transactions with Iran under OFAC’s General License H. A number of foreign affiliates of U.S. companies started doing business and made investments in Iran pursuant to these authorizations.
The U.S. government will reinstate all sanctions against Iran that were lifted by the JCPOA, including General License H. The reinstatement will take place in two phases – 90 and 180 days after the May 8 withdrawal – to allow U.S. and non-U.S. businesses to wind down their existing business with Iran. The sanctions that will be re-imposed and the authorizations that will be revoked are listed below. All parties engaged in any of the activities listed below should take necessary steps to wind down these activities by the dates indicated to avoid sanctions and enforcement actions under U.S. law.
To read the full text of the Alert, we invite you to visit the Fox Rothschild website.