The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced a series of recommendations to be implemented on its longstanding policy of economic and financial sanctions emphasizing the need to apply them with “multilateral coordination wherever possible”, while in the future they should mitigate “unintended economic, humanitarian, and political impacts.”
“Sanctions are most effective when coordinated as an Administration and where possible with allies and partners who can magnify the economic and political impact,” the Treasury said today in a public statement. “This coordination also enhances the credibility of U.S. international leadership and shared policy goals of the United States and its allies,” it said.
The recommendations intend “to preserve and enhance” the effectiveness of the economic and financial sanctions “in supporting national security and U.S. interests now and in the future, ” according to the statement.
In early September a coalition of 46 peacebuilding, humanitarian and human rights groups sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, asking the administration to swiftly conclude the review, make its findings public and implement changes to U.S. sanctions policy, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Also amongst the relevant recommendations the Treasury says it’ll continue to “seek ways to tailor sanctions to mitigate unintended economic, humanitarian, and political impacts on U.S. workers and businesses, allies, and non-targeted populations abroad. This will protect key constituencies and help preserve support for U.S. sanctions policy.”
The Treasury’s review found that “while sanctions remain an essential and effective policy tool, they also face new challenges including rising risks from new payments systems, the growing use of digital assets, and cybercriminals, as well as situations where careful calibration can help limit the impact of sanctions on the flow of legitimate humanitarian aid to those in need.”
“Sanctions are a fundamentally important tool to advance our national security interests,” said Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo in the statement. “Treasury’s sanctions review has shown that this powerful instrument continues to deliver results but also faces new challenges. We’re committed to working with partners and allies to modernize and strengthen this critical tool,” he said in the document.
The U.S. has in place sanctions against Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba and Venezuela, according to Wikipedia.
Relevant stories:
Office of Foreign Assets Control – Sanctions Programs and Information
The United States of Sanctions
A Century of Sanctions