A legal deadline was enough to take Asmara’s government off American blacklists. The US Treasury has removed Eritrea’s sole ruling party, the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice, along with the Eritrean Defence Forces, from its sanctions register. Media outlets reported the move on September 18 and 19, the day after the national emergency underpinning it came to an end.
It all goes back to September 17, 2021. On that day Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14046, meant to target those responsible for the humanitarian and human rights crisis in northern Ethiopia, at the height of the Tigray war. Eritrean forces were among the actors in its sights. The order had been renewed year after year, most recently in September 2025, until it expired on September 17, 2026.
Shortly afterward, OFAC, the Treasury bureau that enforces sanctions, struck several names from its list. The Red Sea Trading Corporation, the Hidri Trust fund and three individuals, including Hagos Ghebrehiwet, are no longer covered. Measures adopted under other legal authorities remain in force, however, and entities owned 50 percent or more by a sanctioned party stay blocked.
Reading this as a diplomatic turning point would be premature. Neither Washington nor Asmara has commented on the political significance of the move, and Capital Ethiopia describes a legal expiry rather than a policy reversal. Some analysts nonetheless sense an adjustment in posture, as the Red Sea has once again become a major strategic concern. Italy has just sent warships to secure passage through the Bab al-Mandeb strait, and Djibouti is receiving thousands more Yemeni refugees.
The regional backdrop remains tense. Ethiopia’s federal army says nearly 300 TPLF fighters surrendered on September 20 along with more than 280 weapons, while drone strikes were reported in August and September. The Tigray war killed an estimated 600,000 people. On the American side, arms export licensing for Addis Ababa was eased in May, and the idea of removing Ethiopia from ITAR restrictions is in circulation.
For Asmara, the end of these sanctions eases a constraint, at least on paper. What remains to be seen is whether the government will turn it into a diplomatic advantage, or whether Western capitals will demand human rights guarantees before going any further.