"I hereby delegate to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the functions and authorities vested in the President by the following provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020," Trump said in the memorandum.
Among the portions of the defence bill that Trump listed was section 7503, which calls on the Treasury and State departments to identify vessels involved in laying pipes for the Nord Stream 2 project so they can be targeted with sanctions. Trump signed the bill into law on 21 December, triggering a 60-day period in which such targets were due to be identified.
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is set to deliver the Russian gas to Europe via the Baltic Sea. Implemented by the Nord Stream 2 AG project company, the pipeline's entry point will be at the Ust-Luga area in the Leningrad region, while its exit point will be in Germany's Greifswald area close to the exit point of Nord Stream. The route will cover more than 1,200 kilometres. The aggregated design capacity of Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 is expected to be 110 billion cubic meters of gas per year.