René Repasi· S&D

False

The EU Blocking Statute was used in the 1990s under the presidency of Bill Clinton and in 2012 under the presidency of Barack Obama.

Error detected

The claim incorrectly states that the EU Blocking Statute was used in 2012 under Barack Obama. In 2012, the EU was imposing its own sanctions on Iran alongside the US, not using the Blocking Statute to counter US sanctions. The statute was actually reactivated/updated in 2018 under the Trump administration, not 2012.

Omissions

• The claim fails to mention the 2018 reactivation/major update of the Blocking Statute, which was the significant event involving the statute during the Iran sanctions episode. The 2012 date may refer to US sanctions imposed on Iran in 2012, but this did not trigger EU Blocking Statute activation at that time.

Sources

• PrimaryEur-Lex - Questions and Answers: adoption of update of the Blocking StatuteThe EU introduced the Blocking Statute in 1996 in response to United States of America (U.S.) extra-territorial sanctions legislation concerning Cuba, Iran and Libya.
• SecondarySkadden - Navigating the Future Landscape of the EU Blocking StatuteThe European Union Blocking Statute was originally adopted in 1996 to counteract US sanctions on Cuba, Iran and Libya, but following a memorandum of understanding with the US administration the statute remained dormant until it was amended in 2018.
• SecondaryWilmerHale - EU to Reactivate 1996 Blocking Regulation Against US Sanctions on IranOn Friday, May 18, the EU Commission launched the formal process to reactivate a 1996 trade defense law in response to the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. The Commission stated: 'We now need to act, and this is why we are launching the process to activate the 'blocking statute' from 1996.'
• TertiaryWikipedia - Blocking statuteA blocking statute was proposed by the European Union in 1996 to nullify a US trade embargo on Cuba and sanctions related to Iran and Libya which affected US-owned foreign subsidiaries and, potentially, any subsequent successor entities.