Compliance Perspectives

By Adam Turteltaub It’s not a good time to be a manufacturer of ten-foot poles. That’s because with the growing number of sanctions regimes, there are an increasing number of companies and individuals that businesses shouldn’t touch with a poll of ten feet, or any length for that matter. Rachel Gerstein, who most recently served as Vice President, Global Ethics and Compliance Counsel for Gartner, explains in this podcast that trade sanctions are laws and regulations designed to prevent and punish engaging with countries, organization and individuals who the government has deemed a threat to national and international security, or has committed human rights violations. Many countries have sanctions regimes, although the United States tends to have the strongest. The US, for example, has countrywide sanctions against Iran, Cuba, Syria and North Korea, as well as numerous sanctions against Russian individuals and entities. The government’s enforcement arm is the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign