Indian companies affected by EU and other sanctions

Recently, new sanctions measures have come into force targeting regimes in countries such as Iran and Syria. Sanctions – or restrictive measures – that affect the business community in India and beyond, can originate at various levels, primarily at the level of the United Nations Security Council, the European Union or individual third states including the US. Indian companies that have extensive international networks should always check carefully if a new or amended regime of restrictive measures affects them.

In a globalized economy, it is a challenge for the business community to fully understand which restrictive measures are in place and which sanctions regimes affect their specific business operations.

Policy instrument

Sanctions in the UN and EU context always find a basis in foreign policy considerations, including combating international terrorism, and are applied on the basis of appropriate legal instruments (e.g. article 41 of Chapter VII of the UN Charter and/or article 11 of the Treaty on the European Union and subsequent EU regulations).

Jeroen Jansen is a partner and the international director of government relations in Brussels. Partner Daniel H Sharma is a member of the litigation and regulatory group in Frankfurt and Brussels who also co-heads DLA Piper’s India group for continental Europe. DLA Piper is the world’s largest legal practice with more than 4,200 lawyers in 76 offices across 30 countries.