The Treasury Department has issued the rules for carrying out sanctions related to commercial espionage, which were imposed by President Obama last year in an executive order aimed at curbing Chinese hacking.

The regulations, published in the Federal Register on Dec. 31 but not widely reported, seek to define and clarify the scope of Executive Order 13694, promulgated by the president in April. The order, “Blocking the Property of Certain Persons Engaging in Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities,” was the result of Chinese cyberattacks aimed at stealing trade secrets from American companies.