By Jenny Park

In December, the White House blamed North Korea for hacking Sony Pictures (Sony’s confidential information was leaked and the hackers threatened attacks on movie theaters that would play The Interview, a political satire comedy poking fun at Kim Jong-un). Now, the White House has authorized the US Treasury discretionary power to impose sanctions against perpetrators of cyber-attacks on US assets and infrastructure. President Obama declared cyber-attacks as “one of the most serious economic and national security challenges.” The White House stressed that this new power will not target internet free speech and will not replace traditional law enforcement responses to cyber-attacks.

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May 05, 2015

By Stephen Levy

The Treasury Department lifted sanctions on 45 entities related to Cuba on March 24^th, according to Reuters, but few of them were still functioning. The Treasury Department said that the adjustments to the Specially Designated Nationals List were not driven by recent moves by the Obama Administration to improve relations with Havana. Instead, it was merely to update the SDN List. Two of the people removed from the list had been executed in 1989 by the Cuban government, raising questions about how often the Treasury actually analyses the SDN List.  Additionally, the lifting of any sanctions, regardless of the fact that most of them are either dead people and sunk ships, will likely raise eyebrows among the Cuban population in the United States.

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April 17, 2015

By Derek Hunter

On October 15, the Treasury released its semi-annual currency report for Congress, and although more subdued then in previous reports, it criticizes several countries’ monetary policies. China, Germany, South Korea, and Japan were all criticized for devaluing its currency to boost export; a devalued currency makes goods cheaper to overseas buyers. The report comes as the U.S. dollar hit a five-year high against a basket of other currencies, highlighting the central role of the U.S. economy in powering global growth.  Bloomberg summarizes the report, and its policy prescriptions for the offending countries.

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October 24, 2014

By Jenny Park

On the same day that the UN Security Council adopted an international counterterrorism resolution, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on 11 people and one entity that funded terrorist groups, including the Islamic State. The sanctions freeze the individuals’ assets and bars U.S. citizens from doing business with them. Since the targeted terrorist groups raise much of its funds locally - thus, beyond the scope of government reach - the impact of these sanctions is unclear. Nonetheless, the purpose is to publicly expose those involved and to restrict the flow of money. 

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October 17, 2014

By Stephen Levy

The U.S. Treasury placed additional sanctions on commanders on both sides of the conflict in South Sudan on September 18^th, according to Reuters. The U.S. condemned the two for “engaging in reprehensible violence”. The two sanctioned commanders were James Koang Chuol, a former member of the military who now supports the rebels, and Santino Deng Wol, a general for the army. The sanctions come as the political and ethnic conflict enters its tenth month despite two previous attempts at a ceasefire.

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September 25, 2014

The Georgetown Journal of International Law, in collaboration with the Atlantic Council, is pleased to announce its 2014 Symposium on International Financial Regulation in the Post-Crisis Era on Tuesday, April 8, 2014 at Georgetown Law.

This event will feature commentary from leading scholars and practitioners in the field of international financial regulation, as well as officials from the Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Department of the Treasury. The conference will include a keynote address by the Hon. Howard Shelanski, Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, as well as remarks by C. Boyden Gray, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union in Brussels (2006-2007). The conference will conclude with a policy discussion of 21st century economic diplomacy, in honor of Professor Chris Brummer’s upcoming book, Minilateralism.

CLE credit is available.* Please RSVP to the link provided below.

Location:

Georgetown University Law Center
Gewirz Student Center, 12th Floor
120 F Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20001

RSVP

http://apps.law.georgetown.edu/forms/?formid=959

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* This event is pre-accredited for CLE credit by the New York and Pennsylvania Bars. Accreditation for the Virginia Bar is pending. Attorneys seeking CLE credit from other states are free to apply to their state bars on their own. 

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April 07, 2014

By Sam Obenhaus

The fix was in and now the Financial Stability Board (FSB), an international financial regulator created by the G20, is investigating.

At issue is alleged collusion among traders to set benchmark foreign-exchange rates.  According to initial investigations carried out by dozens of financial regulators across the globe, traders used chat rooms to share market-moving information about their impending foreign-exchange trades.   They then allegedly used this information to organize their trades during “the fix,” which is a one minute span starting at 3:59:30 London time each afternoon.  The trades executed during “the fix” are used to set the foreign exchange benchmark rates.

After independent investigations by regulators including the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Reserve Bank of Australia, the FSB is launching its own probe. 

The FSB was created to “to develop and promote the implementation of effective regulatory, supervisory and other financial sector policies” across the G20.  Its membership is made up of financial regulators from G20 states.  The United States’ Treasury Department, Federal Reserve Board, and Securities and Exchange Commission are all members.

Bloomberg has more on this story.

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February 21, 2014

By Sam Obenhaus

As recently as this summer, top U.S. officials were telling their European counterparts that financial sector regulations would not be included in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) negotiations.  Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and other Administration officials were eager to discuss market access issues, potentially making it easier for financial institutions to operate in both jurisdictions, but thought that financial regulatory reform should be addressed in another forum, such as the G20.  A major concern, presumably one the Administration still harbors, is that negotiations with Europe will only weaken the U.S.’s comparatively more rigorous financial regulatory system.

Nonetheless, Dan Mullaney, the U.S.’s chief negotiator, recently signaled an about-face with the U.S. now prepared to hold discussions on financial regulatory issues at a special November 27 meeting with his European counterparts.  One explanation for the shift is that the U.S. now believes that it can pull Europe closer to its position and force a compromise on its own terms.  Another explanation is the Administration is coming around to the idea that the benefits of regulatory convergence will outweigh the costs of compromise.

The Wall Street Journal has more information on Treasury Secretary Lew’s prior reluctance to include financial market regulations in the T-TIP talks while Bloomberg BNA has more on U.S. negotiators’ recent reversal.

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November 25, 2013

By Aliza Kempner

The United States is pointing fingers for the continued economic depression and the Germans don’t like it at all. 

The U.S. Treasury report on foreign economic and currency policies asserts that Germany’s huge surplus on current account has created “a deflationary bias for the euro area, as well as for the world economy.” 

While European debtor nations have responded with harsh austerity measures, Germany hasn’t made any adjustments. The New York Times explores the repercussions of Germany’s asymmetrical approach to the trade surplus. 

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November 12, 2013

By Abraham Shanedling

The U.S. Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced Tuesday that it had assessed $1.5 million penalty against a United Arab Emirates-based investment company for violating the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations.

OFAC claims that from September 2009 to February 2010, Alma Investment LLC, which serves as a general trading company, originated at least six electronic fund transfers through U.S.-based financial institutions for the benefit of individuals and entities in Iran. Because Alma did not voluntary disclose such activity, it constituted a violation of OFAC’s ban on exporting services, directly or indirectly, from the United States to Iran or the government of Iran.

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October 23, 2013

By Elizabeth Gibson

After half a century of isolation under military rule, there have, of course, been challenges in reopening Myanmar’s economy to foreign investment. The easing back of one of the United States’ most stringent sanctions regimes does not necessarily mean investment in Myanmar is going to be simple.

Reporting requirements for investors interested in Myanmar aside, one of the early challenges appears to be getting financial services in Myanmar. Despite the lifting of general sanctions and the elimination of sanctions against some key politicians, Myanmar’s banks are still on the Treasury Department’s blacklist. President Obama and the State Department announced this past May that some Myanmar sanctions would be lifted in recognition of the Myanmar government’s reform efforts, but that does not mean Myanmar, formerly Burma, is starting with a clean slate.

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December 01, 2012