United States: Export Controls & Trade & Investment Sanctions

OFAC states that moving disclosures into the New Portal should improve process visibility for disclosing parties, including faster acknowledgment and clearer communication during OFAC's review. Of note, "OFAC strongly encourages parties to begin submitting voluntary self-disclosures through" the New Portal.

On Jan. 29, 2026, President Donald J. Trump issued a new executive order titled Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Cuba and released an accompanying White House Fact Sheet...

The sanctions landscape of 2025 marked a shift in U.S. economic statecraft, with sanctions increasingly integrated alongside tariffs, trade controls, and enforcement actions to advance strategic policy objectives.

Since the day President Trump arrived at the White House, international trade policy has been at the top of his agenda, starting with the release of the "America First Trade Policy Memo," which he released on the first day of his second term.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued two general licenses to provide limited sanctions relief for Venezuela's oil sector after the Venezuelan National Assembly passed sweeping legal reforms.

On January 29, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") issued Venezuela-related General License 46 ("GL 46"), "Authorizing Certain Activities Involving Venezuelan-Origin Oil".

According to Reuters, on January 24, Ukraine and Russia talks, brokered by the U.S., ended without a deal but with more talks expected the following weekend.

On January 23, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") announced a new round of sanctions, intensifying pressure on the Iranian regime following its recent actions...

This decision reaffirms that the foreign illegality defence under English law has territorial limits (to English law or the law of the place where the contract was to be performed)