On September 17, 2021, U.S. President Joseph Biden issued an Executive Order entitled “Imposing Sanctions on Certain Persons With Respect to the Humanitarian and Human Rights Crisis in Ethiopia.” The Executive Order addresses “the situation in and in relation to northern Ethiopia, which has been marked by activities that threaten the peace, security, and stability of Ethiopia and the greater Horn of Africa region . . . .”

This Executive Order authorizes the imposition of blocking sanctions on persons “responsible for or complicit in” human rights abuses, violence, threatening the peace and security, and obstructing humanitarian aid.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of Treasury issued three General Licenses addressing official activities of certain international organizations and entities, certain transactions in support of nongovernmental organizations’ activities, and export or re-export transactions of agricultural commodities, medical devices and medicine, replacement parts and components, and software updates.

The Executive Order can be found here:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/09/17/executive-order-on-imposing-sanctions-on-certain-persons-with-respect-to-the-humanitarian-and-human-rights-crisis-in-ethiopia/

The White House Fact Sheet can be found here:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/09/17/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-actions-in-response-to-ongoing-crisis-in-northern-ethiopia/

OFAC’s Ethiopia-Related Sanctions page, including the General Licenses and the FAQs, can be found here:

https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/sanctions-programs-and-country-information/ethiopia