The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) https://ofac.treasury.gov/ administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on US foreign policy and national security goals against targeted foreign countries and regimes, terrorists, international narcotics traffickers, those engaged in activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and other threats to the national security, foreign policy or economy of the United States.   OFAC is part of the Treasury Department’s Office of Terrorism & Financial Intelligence. The first U.S. economic sanctions were administered during the War of 1812 by Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin https://home.treasury.gov/about/history/prior-secretaries/albert-gallatin-1801-1814 who imposed sanctions against Great Britain for harassing American sailors.  This leverage economically targeting hostile foreign entities has continued with various organizational evolutions since then and OFAC received its current name in 1950 after China entered the Korean War and President Harry Truman declared a national emergency blocking all Chinese and North Korean assets subject to U.S. jurisdiction.    A series of videos (two so far) describing OFAC activities can be found at https://ofac.treasury.gov/ofac-video-series

A key OFAC resource is the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) and Blocked Persons List.  https://www.treasury.gov/ofac/downloads/sdnlist.pdf  This lists individuals and organizations whose property is subject to U.S. sanctions and embargoes and includes those involved in activities undermining U.S. interests such as terrorism, drug trafficking, or human rights violations.  OFAC sanctions toward various countries, organizations, and harmful practices can be found at https://ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-programs-and-country-information with examples including Afghanistan Related Sanctions, Chinese Military Company Sanctions, Foreign Interference in a United States Election Sanctions, Iran Sanctions, Rough Diamond Trade Controls, and many others.  Recent OFAC actions are announced at https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions  A legal library featuring civil penalties and enforcement information, CFR regulations https://ofac.treasury.gov/additional-ofac-resources/ofac-legal-library/code-of-federal-regulations-cfr covering various sections of 31 CFR, Executive Orders from 2016-2023, Federal Register Notices from 2000-present, United Nations Security Council resolutions from 1979-2019, and United States statures from 22 and 50 USC can be found at https://ofac.treasury.gov/additional-ofac-resources/ofac-legal-library . Treasury Dept. Terrorism & Financial Intelligence budget and staffing information can be found at https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/266/06.-TFI-FY-2024-BIB.pdf as part of the Treasury Department’s Fiscal Year 2024 congressional budget request.

Blog post submitted by Professor Bert Chapman, Purdue University Libraries