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
-
Does OPEC Still Matter?
Commentary
On April 28, the United Arab Emirates announced that it would leave OPEC, effective May 1 — ending nearly six decades as an OPEC member. In terms of oil production, it is the ...
By Rachel Ziemba
-
Why China's Rare Earths Grip Is Hard to Break
Video
China's near-total control of the rare earths industry has become one of its most potent geopolitical levers. Chris Kennedy, who leads economic statecraft analysis at Bloomber...
By Chris Kennedy
-
Who Will Make Money on AI?
Reports
The private sector is playing a leading role in advancing the frontier of artificial intelligence (AI). As a result, commercial incentives are likely to have a significant imp...
By Geoffrey Gertz & Emily Kilcrease
-
USTR Hearing on Section 301 Investigations into Structural Excess Capacity
Congressional Testimony
On May 5, 2026 Emily Kilcrease, Senior Fellow and Director of the Energy, Economics, and Security Program at CNAS testified at the Office of the United States Trade Representa...
By Emily Kilcrease
