 The FSIA contains an exception to the immunity of foreign states for victims of state-sponsored terrorism. Prior to 2002, if a judgment was awarded against a foreign government, only assets of the foreign government that were located in the U.S. and "used for commercial activity" could have been seized to satisfy the judgment. To make judgments easier to enforce, Congress enacted the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (TRIA) which allows judgments to be executed against "the blocked assets of [a] terrorist party." Blocked assets include assets that may be seized by the President pursuant to his authority granted by Congress.
