US Issues New Sanctions Guidance Related To COVID-19

The move comes after Joe Biden issued a national security memorandum calling for his administration to undertake a review of US sanctions programs.

The United States on Thursday issued guidance easing the way for delivery of products such as face masks, ventilators and vaccines to combat the coronavirus pandemic to heavily sanctioned countries like Iran, Venezuela and Syria. The U.S. Treasury Department issued general licenses related to those three countries aimed at allowing more coronavirus-related transactions and activities, according to a statement, but stopped short of actually lifting any sanctions. The move comes after President Joe Biden on his first full day in office in January issued a national security memorandum calling for his administration to undertake a review of U.S. sanctions programs to evaluate whether they were hindering responses to the pandemic. "Even though we have comprehensive humanitarian general licenses in all our programs, we did see some gaps," a U.S. Treasury official told Reuters, adding that prior to Thursday's move, obstacles were dealt with on a case-by-case basis that involved delay and cost.