Monday's sanctions announcement had been indicated earlier on in the month by Mnuchin, who told reporters that "they will be coming out in the near future" a day after President Donald Trump's surprise attack on Syria.
The new sanctions are a response to the deadly April 4 chemical attack in Khan Shaykhun, an attack the US government accuses Assad of carrying out against civilians.
"These sweeping sanctions target the scientific support center for Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad's horrific chemical weapons attack on innocent civilian men, women, and children".
Britain welcomed USA sanctions against individuals alleged to be connected to the use of chemical weapons in Syria on Monday, saying they were a clear signal "that actions have consequences".
Some of the people blacklisted had worked on Syria's chemical weapons programme for more than five years, the statement said.
Those designated were "highly-educated" individuals who were likely to be able to travel outside of Syria and use the worldwide financial system, even if they may not have assets overseas, USA administration officials said during a conference call with reporters.
Japan, US on high alert over N. Korea
Noting that the ships had eventually gone on to sail toward the Korean Peninsula, Harris said they are still en route. Harris Jr., told the House Armed Services Committee during a hearing on security challenges in the region.
"The United States is sending a strong message with this action that we will hold the entire Assad regime accountable for these blatant human rights violations in order to deter the spread of these types of barbaric chemical weapons", Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said Monday at a White House press briefing. "We take Syria's disregard for innocent human life very seriously, and will relentlessly pursue and shut down the financial networks of all individuals involved with the production of chemical weapons used to commit these atrocities".
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation have accused the Syrian President of gassing his own people in the attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun.
The sanctions are part of a bigger deterrent effort to stop funding said USA officials, in a bid to halt support for President Bashar Assad and his government in the bitter civil war which has torn Syria apart.
Earlier this month, the United States launched dozens of missiles against a Syrian air base the Pentagon says was used to launch the chemical attack.
One official said the measures will principally focus on weapons manufacturers who are believed to be helping in Assad's use of chemical weapons, according to AP.
The center itself was already the subject of two sanctions declarations, in 2005 and 2007, due to its alleged role in developing weapons of mass destruction.
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