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Resea rch Sevice
U.S. Sanctions Relief for Sudan
July 5, 2017
The Trump Administration is expected to decide by July 12 whether to lift most of a 20-year-old sanctions
regime against Sudan, continuing an Obama Administration strategy of conditional engagement with the
country. By that date, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson must present an interagency report on Sudan's
compliance with benchmarks negotiated between the Obama Administration and the government of
President Omar al Bashir. Bashir came to power in a 1989 coup and is wanted by the International
Criminal Court on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
Successive Administrations have debated the merits of sanctions and engagement proposals for U.S.
policy toward Sudan's authoritarian regime. Congress has actively shaped U.S. policy by enacting laws
that contribute to the sanctions, which respond to Sudan's history of support for international terrorism
and regional armed groups; pervasive human rights violations, particularly in the Darfur region; and debt
arrears, among other factors. Some Members of Congress expressed concern with President Obama's
decision to ease sanctions in January and have urged President Trump to carefully weigh further sanctions
relief. More than 50 Members recently sent a letter to the President urging a delay in the decision.
President Obama's Executive Order (E.O.) 13761 sought to provide Sudan with a clear path to
sanctions relief, waiving several congressional restrictions and stipulating that the United States would
revoke key restrictions in July if the Sudanese government sustain[ed] positive actions it had taken
since mid-2016 on five tracks:
1. Rebuilding counterterrorism cooperation
2. Countering the threat of the Lord's Resistance Army, a regional armed group
3. Ending negative involvement in the conflict in South Sudan
4. Sustaining a unilateral cessation of hostilities in Darfur and the states of South Kordofan
and Blue Nile (the Two Areas), and
5. Improving humanitarian access throughout Sudan.
Based on the Obama Administration's assessment of progress in these areas, it granted temporary relief
from U.S. trade sanctions and unfroze government assets in January. A new General License authorized
commercial transactions that were prohibited under E.O. 13067 (1997) and 13412 (2006), except for
those restricted due to Sudan's designation since 1993 as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST) or due to
targeted Darfur-specific sanctions. The Departments of Commerce and the Treasury eased terms for
issuing export licenses for agricultural commodities, medicines, and medical devices. Commerce also
published a favorable licensing policy for exporting civil aircraft and railway parts. E.O. 13761 unblocked
more than $30 million in assets, although they may still be subject to lawsuits, including in relation to the
Al Qaeda attack on the USS Cole, for which Sudan was found liable.
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Prepared for Members and
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