September 08, 2017
When Is It Time to End Sanctions Programs?
At the end of August, U.S. officials imposed new sanctions on Venezuela following the government’s crackdown on both the opposition and the country’s democratic institutions. The measures marked the fourth major expansion in U.S. sanctions programs this summer. (The others were against Iran, North Korea, and Russia.) With each set addressing different security threats, sanctions have been dubbed the “Swiss army knife of U.S. foreign policy” by the scholar Robert Kahn. Yet at a time when Washington has so many such programs in place, determining how best to wind down sanctions is perhaps more important than discussing when and how to impose them. If U.S. leaders want to use sanctions to change their targets’ policies, they need to plan for their eventual removal. Otherwise, Washington will lose credibility during negotiations and limit the mechanism’s effectiveness.
Read the full op-ed in Foreign Affairs.
More from CNAS
-
Game Over?
Reports
The trade wargame suggests that sustained high tariffs could create leverage and urgency to spur action toward a productive restructuring of the international trade system....
By Emily Kilcrease & Geoffrey Gertz
-
Video
Indo-Pacific Security / Energy, Economics & Security
Trump Hits India with 25% TariffThere have been signs of trouble in the U.S.-India talks, according to a Lisa Curtis from the Center for a New American Security, joining Bloomberg TV, including the U.S. want...
By Lisa Curtis
-
Editor’s Pick: How Economic Warfare Impacts Energy
Podcast
This week, we’re revisiting a conversation Jason Bordoff had with Eddie Fishman, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, about his book Chokepoints: A...
By Edward Fishman
-
Ziemba: Oil Markets in ‘Show Me the Outage’ Mode
Video
Oil rose a second day on optimism over US trade talks ahead of next week’s deadline, and as tightness in diesel markets boosts sentiment. Rachel Ziemba, adjunct senior fellow ...
By Rachel Ziemba
