SANCTIONS UPDATE

This post was written by Matthew J. Thomas.

“Have you seen these new Mideast sanctions? I don’t think we can go ahead with our contracts there. Can we just cancel them?”

This common dilemma is at the heart of a new Reed Smith Client Alert discussing the application of sanctions-based contract cancellation clauses. Use of such clauses was examined recently by the Court of Appeals of England and Wales in Arash Shipping Enterprises Co. Ltd. v. Groupama Transport, a case involving international shipping, insurance, and new sanctions on Iran.

The alert also gives an update on the latest round of trade sanctions against Syria, both by the US and the EU. Given developments there, we expect the sanctions landscape to continue to evolve.