Sanctions Archives

U.S. Issues Sanctions Against Two Turkish Ministries, Three Officials

15Oct

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Sanctions

U.S. Issues Sanctions Against Two Turkish Ministries, Three Officials

October 15, 2019-The U.S. Treasury Department issued economic sanctions against two Turkish ministries and three senior government officials on Monday, blocking them from international financial institutions that trade with the United States. The ministries include the National Defense and the Energy and Natural Resources Department. The officials include the ministers of those departments: Hulusi Akar, Suleyman Soylu, and Fatih Donmez. “The United States is holding the Turkish Government accountable for escalating violence by Turkish forces, endangering innocent civilians, and destabilizing the region,” said U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a release. The level of sanctions appear to be moderate. According to an Associated Press reporter David McHugh, the sanctions ...

U.S. Preps Sanctions Against Turkey in Wake of Military Incursion in Syria

14Oct

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Geopolitics, Middle East, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Preps Sanctions Against Turkey in Wake of Military Incursion in Syria

October 14, 2019-As Turkey continued its military operation into northern Syria on Monday, U.S. lawmakers prepared to impose economic sanctions against current and former Turkish government officials contributing to the "destabilizing actions." While U.S. troops moved out of Syria, U.S. leaders prepared an economic response. In a published statement released on Twitter, U.S. President Donald Trump said he is preparing an executive order to impose the sanctions against "those who may be involved in serious human rights abuses, obstructing a ceasefire, preventing displaced persons from returning home, forcibly repatriating refugees, or threatening the peace, security, or stability in Syria." Aside from sanctions against individuals, further actions could include raising tariffs on s...

U.S. Adds Maduro’s Son to Sanctions Blacklist

29Jun

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Adds Maduro’s Son to Sanctions Blacklist

June 28, 2019--The U.S. government added the son of Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro Moros to its sanction's list, blocking all his property that are in the United States or in possession or control of U.S. persons. In its release, Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said it is targeting Nicolas "Nicolasito" Ernesto Maduro because he is "a current or former official of the Government of Venezuela," and the office would continue to target regime insiders. "Maduro’s regime was built on fraudulent elections, and his inner circle lives in luxury off the proceeds of corruption while the Venezuelan people suffer," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a release. "Maduro relies on his son Nicolasito and others close to his authoritarian regime to maintain a stranglehold on...

U.S., India Must ‘Try Harder’ to Negotiate Trade Tensions, India’s Top Diplomat Says

26Jun

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Diplomacy and International Law, Global Trade, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

U.S., India Must ‘Try Harder’ to Negotiate Trade Tensions, India’s Top Diplomat Says

June 26, 2019--Despite a growing economic relationship between the United States and India, high-level meetings today between the nations' top diplomats reveal strained relations due to a tougher trade environment and differing diplomatic views on U.S. sanctions against Iran and Russia. Ahead of this week's G20 meeting in Japan and amid growing tensions with Iran, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to India and the Middle East this week to garner support. In India, Pompeo met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. While economic relations between the two countries are growing, it appears that geopolitical differences are also rising. 'Try Harder' on Trade Relations Trade between India and the United States on goo...

U.S. Treasury Cracks Down on Cuba-Related Travel

13Jun

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Globalization, Disintegration, Nationalism, Populism, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Treasury Cracks Down on Cuba-Related Travel

June 13, 2019-Just a week after the U.S. government announced tougher restrictions on traveling to Cuba, the U.S. Treasury Department announced it reached settlement agreements with internet-travel firm Expedia and Hotbeds USA for apparent violations of the U.S. Cuban Assets Control Regulations. The two actions, which relate to separate areas of the U.S. sanctions law, demonstrate the new emphasis in the United States on tightening and enforcing sanctions against Cuba. Enforcement Targets Travel Agencies Today, the U.S. Treasury 's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced settlement agreements with travel groups Expedia and Hotelbeds USA for assisting Americans for unauthorized Cuba-related travel. Headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, the Expedia Group agreed to pay $325,40...

28Feb

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

Second U.S.-North Korea Summit Ends

Feb. 28, 2019--U.S. President Donald Trump and DPRK Leader Kim Jong Un concluded their series of meetings in Hanoi, Vietnam without a signing ceremony or changes in policies. "Sometimes you have to walk, and this was just one of those times," Trump said at a televised press conference after the meetings. "At this time, we had some options, and at this time we decided not to do any of the options." The United States has been pushing the North Korean state to denuclearize -- a term that could include accounting for its nuclear weapons, allowing international inspectors inside its facilities and dismantling them. North Korea has been asking the international community to lift economic sanctions against it, at least partially. Flattery and Promises of Economic Success Throughout th...

Global Exchange Bars Iranian Banks in Wake of U.S. Sanctions

13Nov

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Global Trade, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

Global Exchange Bars Iranian Banks in Wake of U.S. Sanctions

Nov. 13, 2018--U.S. sanctions against Iran are beginning to hit the banking sector, making international exchange difficult for Iran and its trading partners. Over the weekend, a global messaging system needed for international trade cut Iranian banks off from its exchange. Without access, Iranian traders cannot conduct business abroad using with bank-to-bank money transfers. As the ban takes effect, international transactions with Iranian banks and traders may come to a halt. Furthermore, the impact on banking transactions brings diplomatic rifts between the United States and the European Union to the surface. SWIFT's Hard Hit The Brussels-based SWIFT system started disconnecting some Iranian banks from its network over the weekend. A SWIFT statement reported by Reuters called the...

New U.S. Sanctions Against Iran Go Into Effect

5Nov

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Energy Policy, Oil & Gas, Global Trade, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

New U.S. Sanctions Against Iran Go Into Effect

Nov. 5, 2018--Six months after pulling out of the six-party nuclear deal, the United States has launched new sanctions against Iran, impacting its banks, shipping industry, businesses and individuals. The sanctions block assets and transactions on over 900 targets, many of them newly named. "They'll be the toughest sanctions ever placed against the Islamic Republic of Iran," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday in an interview with CBS News. The sanctions mean that companies doing business with both the U.S. and Iranian firms will have to make a choice: Pick a side. You cannot do business with both countries. According to Pompeo, some business leaders quit conducting business in Iran based on the U.S. decision to withdraw from the six-party nuclear deal. "European co...

“This is the third time the United States and North Korea have started down this path toward denuclearization and normalization of relations. Previous efforts failed not just because the North Koreans cheated, but because neither side fulfilled its commitments.”

15Jun

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Diplomacy and International Law, Sanctions

“This is the third time the United States and North Korea have started down this path toward denuclearization and normalization of relations. Previous efforts failed not just because the North Koreans cheated, but because neither side fulfilled its commitments.”

Third Time Is A Charm? In analyzing the Trump-Kim Summit, Rand Corp. Senior Fellow James Dobbins says sustainable progress in dismantling North Korea's nuclear infrastructure would take 10-15 years. "At least one of the two leaders will no longer be in office by then," Dobbins said. "And the United States can never be certain that Pyongyang has surrendered every single nuclear weapon." He credits South Korean President Moon Jae-in for negotiating a path forward with North Korea and the warming relations between Kim and Trump. If nothing else, the summit may provide relief to most Americans and Koreans agitated last year by the heated rhetoric and threats of a nuclear showdown between Trump and Kim. For more, see the Rand Corp. blog piece, 'Why This Wasn't Kim's Father'. &nb...

North Korea State TV Produces Documentary of Kim’s Singapore Trip

14Jun

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Diplomacy and International Law, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief, Types of News: Videos

North Korea State TV Produces Documentary of Kim’s Singapore Trip

June 14, 2018 - A state-television station for North Korea produced a documentary of its leader's trip to Singapore, featuring Kim Jong-un as a patriot who has arrived on the world stage. The 42-minute video on KCTV resembles a travelogue that pays tribute to Kim's ascent in the global conscientiousness. The video clips provide a glimpse into the way the DPRK views the summit. It also sheds light on the fact that Kim and his rogue nation have been isolated from seeing and participating in the rest of the world. Although Kim attended school in Switzerland as a child, he has only traveled outside of North Korea twice -- to China last March and South Korea last April -- since becoming the country's "Supreme Leader" in 2011. The Singapore trip, therefore, was a big deal for him and his coun...