Blocking statute
A blocking statute is a law of one jurisdiction intended to hinder application there of a law made by a foreign jurisdiction. A 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 countries trading with the US and with the named countries. The 1996 statute was not enacted as the disagreements were settled by other means.

A blocking statute shields companies in its jurisdiction against sanctions by prohibiting them from respecting the sanctions, and not recognising foreign court rulings enforcing them.

European Union blocking statute
EU Blocking Statute was originally introduced in 1996 to "counteract" the US' sanctions imposed against Cuba, Iran, and Libya.

2018 update
On 7 August 2018, the EU enacted an updated blocking statute to nullify US sanctions on countries trading with Iran, after the US announced sanctions against such countries following its withdrawal from an agreement permitting trade if Iran curtailed its nuclear programme. The process of updating the EU Blocking Statute was commenced by adding to its scope on 6 June 2018 the extraterritorial sanctions the US re-imposed on Iran. The European Commission said:

The 2018 blocking statute essentially prohibits EU companies from "direct" or "indirect" (via subsidiaries or intermediary persons) compliance with the laws listed in US sanctions annex. It also does not recognize any verdicts by courts that enforce US penalties. A to-be-established clearing house will, through a special-purpose vehicle set up for this purpose, facilitate trade with Iran by European companies, bypassing US sanctions.

European governments regard the blocking statute as "more of a political weapon than a regulation", since, it wrote, the blocking statute's rules were "vague and difficult to enforce". A senior US administration official said they were not "particularly concerned by" the imposition of the blocking statute.

External links
 Council Regulation (EC) No 2271/96 of 22 November 1996 protecting against the effects of the extra-territorial application of legislation adopted by a third country, and actions based thereon or resulting therefrom
 Blocking statute; Protecting EU operators, reinforcing European strategic autonomy