On 13 January the US State Department announced that the Department of the Treasury was taking “immediate action… to authorize expanded trade with and investment in Sudan.” President Obama also issued an Executive Order giving what the State Department described as a “clear path to the permanent revocation of sanctions in six months.”

Areas affected by the lifting of sanctions include the oil sector and equipment for agriculture, transportation, IT and medical services, according to senior administration officials. For the first six months, companies require permission from the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to do business with Sudan. (CONTINUED - 1093 WORDS)