New Executive Order on the Administration of Proliferation Sanctions

President Donald Trump has issued an Executive Order (E.O.) relating to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and means of delivering them. This E.O. also amends the national emergency declared in E.O. 12938, as amended.

The E.O. authorises the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, and in accordance with section 307(b)(1) of the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW Act), to implement additional sanctions against a country using chemical or biological weapons. Under the CBW Act, mandatory sanctions are imposed when the President makes an initial determination that a state has used chemical or biological weapons (see post). This E.O. relates to the second round of sanctions, imposed after 3 months unless the offending state has stopped or given assurances not to use these weapons. The sanctions available to the Treasury include a prohibition on supply of financial services, blocking measures, and import and export restrictions.