Committee publication · Correspondence · 9 December 2025

Letter from the Minister of State for Trade relating to the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation, 3 December 2025

From: Business and Trade Sub-Committee on Economic Security, Arms and Export Controls

Summary

The Minister of State for Trade updates the Business and Trade Committee on the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation's first year of operation since its October 2024 launch. OTSI has received 146 potential breach reports, rolled out licensing for sanctioned services, and will assume responsibility for all export sanctions licensing (except strategic goods) from early 2026. Annual reviews will replace ad-hoc updates.

Key findings

OTSI received 146 reports or referrals for potential sanctions breaches in its first operational year, with multiple investigations underway
High levels of industry engagement and breach reporting indicate strong voluntary compliance culture among UK businesses
OTSI has successfully rolled out licensing for sanctioned services to permit lawful trade to sanctioned destinations
From early 2026, OTSI will take on all export sanctions licensing responsibility except for strategic goods and technology (ECJU remains responsible)
Combined sanctions coalition efforts against Russia have deprived the country of over $450bn in revenue

Tone

Procedural

Topics

trade-sanctionsexport-controlscompliance-enforcementforeign-policynational-security

Key actors

Sir Chris Bryant MP, Liam Byrne MP, Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation (OTSI), Department for Business and Trade, Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU)

Notable line

“Underpinning sanctions with strong enforcement is critical to their impact.”

Key Quotes

“Sanctions are a vital foreign policy and national security tool used to deter and disrupt threats and malign behaviour and demonstrate our values.”
— Sir Chris Bryant MP · Explaining the role of sanctions in UK foreign policy

“Our combined efforts across the sanctioning coalition have deprived Russia of over $450bn in revenue.”
— Sir Chris Bryant MP · Describing the impact of coordinated sanctions against Russia

“It is encouraging that OTSI has seen high levels of engagement and reporting by industry of suspected breaches, which is a vital source of information.”
— Sir Chris Bryant MP · Noting industry cooperation with OTSI's enforcement efforts

“OTSI's role is not just to enforce sanctions but also to support businesses to comply with their obligations through engagement and guidance.”
— Sir Chris Bryant MP · Describing OTSI's dual enforcement and compliance support function

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Source · parliament.uk record ↗