Treasury Getting Better at Mitigating 'Unintended' Effects of Sanctions, US Official Says
A senior U.S. Treasury Department official said the agency has made progress in addressing criticism that its sanctions are ineffective and difficult to comply with, pointing to recent guidance issued by Treasury and the increase in U.S. sanctions coordinated with close U.S. allies.
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“It's imperfect. We haven't gotten the final solution that we would hold up,” said Brad Smith, acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. “But we are trying, and we have made significant progress, we think.”
Smith, speaking during an event last week hosted by the Atlantic Council, said Treasury hears feedback from companies and other governments “quite often” that the U.S. relied too heavily on unilateral sanctions “or without a full appreciation for the impact that our actions may have on industry.” But over the last few years, “we've made a concerted effort to internalize and respond to that feedback and those criticisms.”
He specifically pointed to the multiple sanctions against Russia that the U.S. has coordinated with allies, including the EU, the U.K., Canada and Australia. Smith also noted that the Biden administration has worked with allies “to refine our guidance to ensure there's consistent messaging.” The Group of 7 nations and the EU issued a first-of-its-kind joint guidance earlier in the week as a tool they said could help companies prevent Russia-related sanctions and export control evasion (see 2401170059).
Steps taken by Treasury have helped “in mitigating some of the unintended consequences that may have materialized in past actions, while also ensuring our actions are effective,” Smith said.