U.S. sanctions on Iran (see 1907080019) will not lead to a clear outcome, said Sarah Ladislaw, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies Energy and National Security Program, adding that the U.S.’s failure may leave it without a contingency plan.
Japan officially approved removing South Korea from its so-called whitelist of trusted trading partners, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Aug. 2, adding that it will begin enforcing the decision Aug. 28. The move was expected after Japan introduced a bill earlier this month as the two countries become embroiled in a trade dispute (see 1907300058).
As the U.S. continues to impose broad sanctions, companies are increasingly turning away from deals, fearing compliance risks, sanctions lawyers and experts said. While the Trump administration has tried to mitigate sanctions impacts on industry through advance notices, guidance and wind-down periods, the experts said, some of the damages have been unavoidable.
The State Department announced sanctions on Anselem Nhamo Sanyatwe, the former commander of the Zimbabwe National Army’s Presidential Guard Brigade and current ambassador of Zimbabwe to Tanzania, the agency said in an Aug. 1 press release. Sanyatwe was sanctioned for a “gross violation of human rights,” the agency said, including a “violent crackdown” against unarmed election protesters in Zimbabwe in 2018 that led to six deaths. The State Department also designated Chido Machona, Sanyatwe’s spouse.
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control on Aug. 1 removed more than 40 entries from its Kingpin Act designations, which impose sanctions on international narcotics traffickers. The removals include people based in Colombia, Panama, Guatemala and Mexico.
The broad range of U.S. sanctions are confusing U.S. allies, seem to have no clear goal and could damage future administrations' ability to levy sanctions, several experts on U.S. sanctions said. The U.S. actions are also allowing countries to create sanctions immunities and leading to divisions in Europe, they said, criticizing the Trump administration’s lack of planning for potential consequences.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed a bill on July 31 that would sanction anyone involved with Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The bill authorizes the Trump administration to impose a series of sanctions on those involved, including restricted use of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, restricted export licenses, asset freezes and more. The administration cannot use the measures to ban a sanctioned person from importing goods into the U.S., the bill said. If Congress passes the bill, the State Department would be required to submit an annual report to Congress on all entities involved in the pipeline project.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister and spokesman, Treasury announced July 31. The move comes about a month after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters in June that President Donald Trump was planning to sanction Javad Zarif (see 1906240046). “Javad Zarif implements the reckless agenda of Iran’s Supreme Leader, and is the regime’s primary spokesperson around the world,” Mnuchin said in a statement. “At the same time the Iranian regime denies Iranian citizens’ access to social media, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif spreads the regime’s propaganda and disinformation around the world through these mediums.”
A top Treasury official acknowledged criticism that the agency is abusing its sanctions powers but stood by the approach, saying the sanctions are necessary and that the Treasury is mitigating impacts on U.S. companies by issuing more compliance guidance.
Russia is considering new bills that would counter anti-Russian sanctions through criminal charges and the creation of an “‘unreliable’ payment processors list,” according to a July 30 Lexology report and notices from the Russian State Duma.