USA relaxes sanctions against Sudanese government

The United States of America has relaxed sanctions against commercial exports to areas controlled by the Government of Sudan. The US Treasury Department issued a “statement of licensing policy” which changed sanctions against imports into North Sudan. The new policy allows “exportation or reexportation of U.S.-origin agricultural equipment and services” to North Sudan. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control now invites license applications and will consider them on a case-by-case basis. “The purpose of this new licensing policy is to benefit the Sudanese people by enhancing local food production and strengthening the agricultural sector in a chronically food insecure country,” the Treasury Department stated in the new policy. A delegation of Sudanese agro-business leaders and corporate executives visited Washington in January 2010 as part of a quiet ongoing liaison between the governments of President Obama and President Bashir. A number of US agro-business leaders were on hand, reportedly from Nebraska, a source in Washington said at the time.More recently, the United States has lobbied on behalf of Sudan in support of its quest for debt relief, according to Sudan’s finance minister Ali Mahmoud. In an interview with the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat last week, the finance minister was asked what role the US played in improving Sudan’s relations with the World Bank. He replied: “The US representative in the World Bank presented initiatives to boost cooperation with Sudan.” The Treasury Department noted that the new “favorable licensing regime” is “consistent with current U.S. foreign policy.” The new policy is available at this link in PDF format.Photo: US Special Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration (left) and Presidential Advisor Ghazi Sala Al Din, the federal official in charge of the Darfur File.