Can U.S. companies do business in Venezuela?

Yes, but only with significant compliance overhead — U.S. companies must screen counterparties, review OFAC sanctions, evaluate BIS export controls, and document payment and banking paths before proceeding. Some activity is permissible under existing OFAC general licenses; specific licenses may be required for transactions outside that scope.

What is the first U.S. government contact point for Venezuela opportunities?

ITA's Venezuela Business Information Center directs companies to tradevenezuela@trade.gov for assistance.

What should be checked before quoting a Venezuelan buyer?

Screen the buyer and beneficial owners, classify the product for export controls, confirm any OFAC authorization needed, assess payment rails, and document end use. These five checks together cover the OFAC SDN / 50% Rule exposure, the BIS Commerce Control List classification, and the AML / payment-routing risk that determines whether the order is worth quoting.

U.S. exporter workflow · ITA + OFAC + BIS

Venezuela Market-Entry Checklist for U.S. Companies

A practical pre-flight list for U.S. exporters evaluating Venezuela: trade leads, sanctions screening, export controls, contacts, and travel readiness.

Start with ITA Venezuela. Review the Venezuela Business Information Center and email tradevenezuela@trade.gov for opportunity-specific routing.
Check current leads. Use our Venezuela trade-leads finder to map equipment needs to HS codes and sector demand.
Screen parties. Run counterparties, owners, vessels, aircraft, and banks through the OFAC Venezuela sanctions checker and confirm against the official Consolidated Screening List.
Map authorization. Compare the transaction against OFAC Venezuela general licenses, then get counsel for anything involving PdVSA, state entities, debt, gold, banking, or blocked persons.
Review export controls. Check BIS Export Administration Regulations and document ECCN / EAR99 classification before quoting or shipping.
Model payment and FX friction. Price in correspondent-bank friction, bolivar volatility, and repatriation risk. Use the BCV exchange-rate tool for baseline conversion.
Plan travel separately. Confirm visa channel, security transport, and emergency contacts before any in-country diligence trip.