What is a sectoral sanction?
A sanction that prohibits specific types of dealings (e.g. financing beyond a certain maturity, transfers of certain technology) with otherwise non-blocked persons in defined sectors of a target country's economy. The clearest example is OFAC's Sectoral Sanctions Identifications (SSI) List targeting Russian energy, finance and defence sectors under Directives 1–4. Sectoral sanctions are narrower and more conduct-specific than full asset-freeze (SDN) designations.