Blocking Statute

A law that forbids domestic operators from complying with named foreign extraterritorial sanctions and lets them recover resulting damages. The EU Blocking Statute, Council Regulation (EC) 2271/96, bars EU persons from complying with listed US measures (including secondary sanctions on Iran and Cuba) absent Commission authorization, and voids foreign judgments enforcing them. The 2018 amendment added the reinstated US Iran sanctions to its Annex. Compliance with the listed laws can itself breach the statute, creating a direct conflict-of-laws bind for shipping.