Tatman Savio Quoted in Global Trade Review on New North Korea Sanctions

Global Trade Review has quoted Akin Gump international trade partner Tatman Savio in the article “New sanctions target North Korean banks,” which reports that the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control has added nine North Korean banks, as well as more than two dozen individual bankers, to its Specially Designated Nationals list. Any individual or company found to be doing business with them could be subject to punitive measures.

Discussing the imposition of new sanctions, Savio said it effectively amounts to a complete embargo on North Korea. “There’s no ambiguity about what President Trump is trying to accomplish,” she noted. “It is aiming to isolate North Korea through the use of secondary sanctions measures. An individual or entity can now be subject to sanctions as a result of trading with North Korea or merely on the basis of being North Korean. The reason for the latter basis is that North Korean business is so intertwined with the state that it’s difficult to know where the line is separating the two.”

The risk for international banks and companies, according to the article, comes largely in the supply chain complexities of Asia. Savio agreed, adding, “By this stage, U.S. companies are generally not transacting directly with North Korea. Now they need to be sure they can say the same about their counterparties in China, Russia, India and everywhere else, to avoid the risk of doing business with a party that could become subject to sanctions.”