Meredith Rathbone

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Meredith Rathbone focuses on export controls and economic sanctions, and has assisted clients in the energy, manufacturing, telecommunications, information security, banking, insurance, pharmaceutical, and service industries, among many others, in navigating the requirements of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and US sanctions regulations administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and US Department of State. She regularly assists companies in developing compliance policies, conducting internal investigations, performing training, and conducting due diligence in M&A transactions. She has represented individuals and companies facing civil and criminal investigations in this area, and has also represented clients in their efforts to be removed from OFAC’s list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs). She is a frequent writer and speaker on export controls and sanctions topics. She is the co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Export Controls and Economic Sanctions Committee, and also serves on the Sanctions Subcommittee of the State Department’s Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy.

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Firm/Organization: Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Blogs: International Compliance Blog

Latest Articles

In response to President Trump’s Executive Order re-imposing certain Iran-related sanctions, summarized in our recent post, the EU has expanded the scope of the EU Blocking Statute to cover certain US Iran-focused sanctions.  On August 7, immediately following the US government’s re-imposition of certain Iran-related sanctions, the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1100 amending the annex to the EU Blocking Statute was published in the EU Official Journal and entered into force. In addition to…
On June 6, and in furtherance of its May 16 announcement, the European Commission adopted a delegated act to amend the annex to the EU Blocking Statute by adding within its scope US Iran-related secondary sanctions that have extra-territorial application.  The delegated act will enter into force once it is published in the EU Official Journal – probably well before the August 16 deadline set out for the re-imposition of the US secondary sanctions –…
On January 12, President Trump announced that he was reissuing statutory waivers necessary to continue certain sanctions relief pursuant to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA” or Iran nuclear deal), but stated that this was the last time he would reissue such waivers unless his concerns over the agreement were addressed.  On the same day, the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) designated 14 individuals and entities for engaging in…
In light of the recent protests in Iran, a UK press report has recently drawn attention to a motion – known as Early Day Motion 483 – filed in October by a Conservative Party MP to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (“IRGC”) as a terrorist organisation. The motion calls upon the UK Government to include the IRGC on the list of “proscribed organisations” and to impose “punitive measures” against its individuals.  Since its filing, the…
Steptoe partners Meredith Rathbone and Brian Egan authored an article on US secondary sanctions published in WorldECR’s special report, “The Global Agenda.” The article discusses how US secondary sanctions seek to target and restrict the activities of non-US persons and explains how best to deal with those sanctions. More information is available here.…
A bipartisan group of US Senators introduced a bill on January 11, 2017 – the Countering Russian Hostilities Act of 2017 – that would impose unprecedented sanctions on Russia and persons and entities conducting certain types of business involving Russia.  This bill would codify into law most of the existing sanctions targeting Russia, making it harder (though not impossible) for the incoming Trump administration to reverse those sanctions through executive action.  It would also impose…
Steptoe’s Meredith Rathbone and Peter Jeydel co-authored an article in Risk & Compliance, “New DOJ Guidance Could be a Game Changer for Export Controls and Sanctions Enforcement.”  The article was published in the January-March issue and centers on how the US Department of Justice’s guidance may cause difficulties and new risks for industries. For more information, please see the full article in Risk & Compliance (free subscription required).…
On October 12, 2016, the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published companion final rules to amend Category XII of the United States Munitions List (USML) and move some less sensitive items to the Commerce Control List (CCL).  The final rules will become effective on December 31, 2016.  Category XII (Fire Control, Range Finder, Laser, Optical and Guidance Control Equipment) is one of…
On November 30, 2016, UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2321 was adopted, pushing the limits on how far international economic sanctions can go in isolating the North Korean regime without entirely collapsing the country’s economy.  The resolution also lays out a handful of additional legal restrictions that will be pertinent for US and international stakeholders that may still have direct or indirect connections with North Korea, and closes some of the gaps left by a…