Page:2020-07-29 PSI Staff Report - The Art Industry and U.S. Policies that Undermine Sanctions.pdf/21

 information and informational materials from presidential sanction authority under IEEPA and TWEA. The Berman amendment specifically exempted the authority to regulate or prohibit "publications, films, posters, phonograph records, photographs, microfilms, microfiche, tapes, compact disks, CD ROMs, artworks, and new wire feeds."

Additional sanctions authority available to the President is found in the Magnitsky Act. Passed in 2016, the law authorizes the President to impose sanctions on any foreign person "who is responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights" committed against individuals seeking to expose corruption or promote human rights. President Trump has used this authority to designate individuals for offenses including wrongful detention, the denial of medical treatment for detainees, and the expropriation of businesses for personal gain. OFAC implements its sanction authorities in ways "expected to generate the most impact in achieving [U.S.] national security and foreign policy goals." In a 2017 hearing before the House Subcommittee on Monetary Policy, then-OFAC Director John Smith explained that "[w]hen deployed strategically and with precision, sanctions are a highly effective way of pressuring regimes and malign actors to change their behavior." Director Smith further asserted:

"[B]y freezing the assets of illicit actors, cutting them off from the U.S. financial system, and restricting their ability to interface with the international financial system, the choice to them becomes clear: either modify your behavior or accept the isolation and negative economic effects of remaining on our financial blacklist."

In addition to sanctions, OFAC also designates individuals or entities as Specially Designated Nationals ("SDN"). The SDN list contains the names of "individuals and companies owned or controlled by, or acting on behalf of, targeted