中国发布首个封锁令——禁止执行OFAC制裁

Prohibiting the Implementation of OFAC Sanctions China – May 2026 Five years after its entry into force, on 2May 2026, China’s Ministry of Commerce(MOFCOM) for the first time invokedthe Measures for Blocking the ImproperExtraterritorial Application of Foreign Laws Content of the Blocking Order The Blocking Order provides that the above-mentioned OFACsanctions shall not be recognised, implemented or compliedwith. The order does not provide further details or specific Who Is Required To Comply With the The MOFCOM announcement does not expressly specify theentities required to comply with the Blocking Order. However,based on the Blocking Measures, it is understood that theorder applies to Chinese citizens, legal persons and other Details of the Blocking Measures were discussed in our firm’s OFAC has recently imposed successive sanctions on anumber of Chinese companies under Executive Order 13902and Executive Order 13846, designating them as speciallydesignated nationals (SDNs) on the grounds that they, as“teapot refineries,” purchased large quantities of Iranian For example, a Chinese subsidiary of a US company isrequired to comply with the Blocking Order, whereas a US Availability of Exemptions Pursuant to Article 8 of the Blocking Measures, Chinesecitizens, legal persons or other organisations may applyto MOFCOM for an exemption from compliance with The issuance of the Blocking Order marks China’s first formalcountermeasure against US OFAC sanctions. It also cannotbe ruled out that the move serves as negotiating leverage Consequences of Noncompliance Failure to comply with the Blocking Order may result in the Sanctions Targeted by the Blocking Order •Where Chinese citizens or organisations fail to comply,MOFCOM may issue a warning, order rectification within The sanctions prohibited by the Blocking Order are themeasures taken by the US pursuant to executive orders13902 and 13846, under which OFAC designated thefollowing companies to the SDN List (Blocked OFAC •Where any person (including foreign individuals andenterprises) implements the Blocked OFAC Sanctions andthereby causes losses to Chinese citizens or organisations, •Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refining & Chemical Co., Ltd.•Shandong Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical Co., Ltd.•Shandong Jincheng Petrochemical Group Co., Ltd. •Hebei Xinhai Chemical Group Co., Ltd. •Shandong Shengxing Chemical Co., Ltd. In other words, for Chinese citizens and organisations,noncompliance with the Blocking Order exposes them to bothadministrative penalties and litigation risk. Foreign personsnot directly subject to the Blocking Order may still facelitigation risk if they implement the Blocked OFAC Sanctions. Contacts Ju (Lindsay) ZhuPartner, ShanghaiT +86 21 6103 6303E lindsay.zhu@squirepb.com George N. GrammasPartner, Washington DC, LondonT +1 202 626 6234T +44 20 7655 1301E george.grammas@squirepb.com At the same time, the US position has hardened. Justyesterday,at a press conference, US Secretary of StateMarco Rubio confirmed that any entity complying withthe Blocking Order, foreign financial institutions expressly José María ViñalsPartner, Madrid, Brussels, GenevaT +34 91 426 4840M +34 649 133 822T +32 2 627 1111E josemaria.vinals@squirepb.com Takeaways •China is increasingly demonstrating a willingness toadopt countermeasures in response to sanctions andrestrictive measures involving China, as further illustratedby MOFCOM’s decision of 24 April 2026 placing sevenEU defence and aerospace entities (e.g. FN Herstal, FN •Companies need to more carefully design OFAC sanctionscompliance policies and avoid overcompliance, especiallythose with Chinese subsidiaries. For example, manymultinational companies simply block all transactions withSDN-listed entities worldwide, even where OFAC rulesdo not require such broad restrictions. For companies •Where a company is genuinely placed in a dilemma (i.e.where compliance with the Blocking Order would violateOFAC sanctions, or vice versa), the company may consider