U.S. persons may deal in (including act as the advising or confirming bank or as the applicant (i.e., the purchaser of the underlying goods or services)) or process transactions under a letter of credit in which an entity subject to Directive 1, 2, or 3 is the beneficiary (i.e., the exporter or seller of the underlying goods or services) because the subject letter of credit does not represent an extension of credit to the SSI entity. U.S. persons may deal in (including act as the advising or confirming bank or as the applicant or beneficiary) or process transactions under a letter of credit where the issuing bank is an SSI entity provided that the terms of all payment obligations under the letter of credit conform with the debt prohibitions under the applicable Directives. For example, a U.S. bank acting as the negotiating bank for a letter of credit issued after November 28, 2017 by an SSI entity subject to Directive 1 should ensure that it receives reimbursement from the SSI entity within the allowable 14-day debt limit.
U.S. persons may not deal in (including act as the advising or confirming bank or as the beneficiary) or process transactions under a letter of credit if all of the following three conditions are met: (1) the letter of credit was issued on or after the sanctions effective date, (2) the letter of credit carries a term of longer than the applicable tenor specified in the relevant Directive, and (3) an SSI entity is the applicant of the letter of credit. This would constitute prohibited activity because the subject letter of credit would represent an extension of credit to the SSI entity.