May I conduct Yale activities in a country that maintains a boycott against another country?

U.S. law prohibits individuals and entities (including Yale) from participating in a boycott that is not approved by the U.S. government.  The main unsanctioned boycott to which these laws have been applied is the Arab boycott of Israel.  A boycott may take various forms including refusing to do business with the boycotted country and discriminating on the basis of race, religion or national origin.

A boycotting country is any country that is on the list maintained by the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.  The current list includes Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and the Republic of Yemen.

All Yale activities, whether domestic or international, will be subject to Yale Policy 9000 Yale University Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment.

Please contact the Office of General Counsel (203-432-4949) or the Tax Department (203-432-5530) to obtain advice and ensure compliance with the IRS reporting requirements regarding boycotts if any of the following situations apply:

• You are conducting or would like to conduct Yale or personal scholarly activities in a boycotting country; or
• You have entered into an agreement or are asked to enter into an agreement to (A) refrain from doing business with or in a country which is the object of an international boycott or with the government, companies or nationals of the country, (B) refrain from doing business with any U.S. person engaged in trade in a country which is the object of an international boycott or with the government, companies or nationals of that country, (C) refrain from doing business with any company whose ownership or management is made up, all or in part, of individuals of a particular nationality, race, or religion, or (D) refrain from employing individuals of a particular nationality or religion.