Restricted Countries - Information Requests from Foreign Nationals

FHWA offices frequently receive requests for information from foreign entities. This leads to questions regarding whether it is permissible to provide information to certain countries. We offer this as general guidance and ask that you please share this important information with your staff.

There are countries against whom the U.S. has imposed prohibitions the exchange of information, goods, services. However, the types of controls that are put into place do not always involve blanket prohibitions against all contact. It is therefore incumbent upon the party providing information to review the request, the source of the request and then to compare this against the specific controls in place. In some instances the responding entity will have to investigate whether exceptions and clarifications exist that will affect the information that can be provided.

As always, if there are still uncertainties, please feel free to contact OIP for clarification. The list presented below is compiled from information provided by the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The OFAC administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on US foreign policy and national security goals against targeted foreign countries. Whenever a request for information is received from any of these countries, the responding party should perform a more detailed investigation or ignore the request entirely depending on its source.

In all cases, please notify OIP of the inquiry and any action taken. OST has requested we track all such inquiries.

Requests from three countries should trigger no responses whatsoever and should immediately be forwarded to OIP:

• Cuba: No contact should be made.
• Iran: No contact should be made.
• North Korea: No contact should be made.

Requests from six countries and regions should trigger additional analysis before responding:

• Balkans: Controls block the property of persons who threaten international stabilization efforts in the Western Balkans so the individual entity requesting the information should be scrutinized before providing information.
• Burma (Myanmar): There are no specific controls for non-financial transactions, but extensive controls for financial activities.
• Liberia: Controls block the property of certain persons and importation of certain goods from Liberia. Before any information is provided the recipients of the information should be scrutinized to ensure that the US does not block them.
• Sudan: Individuals or organizations that are owned or controlled by, or act on behalf of, the Government of Sudan anywhere in the world may be named by the U.S. Treasury Department as "Specially Designated Nationals" ("SDNs") of Sudan. U.S. persons are prohibited from transacting business with these individuals and entities, and all of their property in the United States or in the possession or control of a U.S. person is blocked. Their names are published in the Federal Register, an official publication of the U.S. Government. A listing of such SDNs may be obtained by calling the Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") at 202-622-2490.
• Syria: Executive Order blocks property of certain persons and prohibits the export of certain goods to Syria. Therefore, the individual entity requesting the information should be scrutinized.
• Zimbabwe: Controls block the property of certain persons and importation of certain goods from Zimbabwe. Therefore, the individual entity requesting the information should be scrutinized.

Any country not on the list would be able to receive assistance from the FHWA at the responding office's discretion. However, it should be noted that circumstances can change and permitted activities with any country could be altered. Do not hesitate to check with OIP if you have any questions.

Information published by OFAC can be found online at http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/programs/index.shtml. Please note that the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security also posts information on embargoed countries at http://www.bis.doc.gov/PoliciesAndRegulations/04ForPolControls/Chap5_Embargo.htm.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office.