US Sanctions on Other Countries

Introduction 

The USA is gradually developing a reputation for issuing sanctions around the world. At the beginning of 2019, US President Donald Trump tweeted a colorful poster with his photo and the words “Sanctions are coming!” (Maloney, 2018). However, whereas sanctions have augmented during the current federal regime, they are not a new concept in US foreign policy. Indeed, the USA has used sanctions to mold the geopolitical world for decades. The ability of the USA to issue sanctions against any country in the world lies in the fact that America is a bona fide global superpower (Sapolsky, 2019). On the one hand, the USA has the most powerful economy in the world, even when compared to the European Union. On the other hand, the USA is the most powerful military juggernaut in the world. The nation is also able to avoid substantive retaliation countries the sanctions so issued. There are two main reasons why the USA issues sanctions to other nations. The first is to protect American geopolitical interests, more so those allied to security and commerce (Maloney, 2018). The second is in the USA playing its role as an international geopolitical supervisor and human rights watchdog. Based on the above, the US has issued sanctions against nations that attack America and its interests, foster terrorism, attack other countries or even undertake domestic human rights abuses (Betts, 2017). Currently, the USA has issued sanctions against tens of nations around the world, both against the nations as a whole or a segment of its population. These countries range from powerful ones such as China to poor ones such as Zimbabwe. Key among these nations are Russia, China, Venezuela, Cuba, and North Korea. A careful evaluation of each of the sanctions issued by the USA against the five nations show that they have been substantively effective in themselves, but not in attaining the goals they were set to achieve . 

Sanctions Against Russia 

Russia is among the most powerful nations against whom the USA has issued sanctions, and perhaps justifiably so. Issuing sanctions against Russia is a relatively new concept, as the USA once considered Russia the second superpower. At the rise of the USA as a geo-political behemoth, its only perceived competitor was Russian controlled USSR but the situation changed with the end of the cold war at the advent of the 1990s (Betts, 2017). The geopolitical power of the USA continued to grow while that of Russia seemed to dwindle. Under the current global geopolitical environment, the USA can issue sanctions against Russia, almost without any plausible repercussions. The US government has issued two sets of sanctions against Russia, one against the government itself and the other, against powerful individuals and companies in Russia. 

The sanctions against Russia commenced in 2012 during the Obama administration. The said sanctions began with the enactment of the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 (Welt et al., 2019). Under the said Act, the USA government could sanction specific officials of a nation for perpetrating, carrying out or condoning human rights abuses. The sanctions against Russia, therefore, were in retaliation for human rights abuses by Russia against its own population, including journalists and political dissenters. The Obama administration sanctioned specific Russian individuals as opposed to Russia as a nation. 

Soon after in 2014, Russia attacked its neighbor and US-allied Ukraine, then proceeded to annex the Crimean region (Oxenstierna & Olsson, 2015). Russia also reverted to its cold war tactics of controlling nations through the installation of puppet governments, in order to develop substantive control over Ukraine. In retaliation, the US enacted the Integrity, Democracy, and Economic Stability of Ukraine Act of 2014, and the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014 (Welt et al., 2019). Under the two laws, the USA issued substantive sanctions against Russia mainly from a military and economic perspective. The sanctions limited international commerce for Russia including its abilities to sell military equipment. Under the Trump administration, the US government also enacted the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, (CAATSA) of 2017 and Countering Russian Influence in Europe and Eurasia Act of 2017 to enable the reinforcement of sanctions against Russia (Welt et al., 2019). 

From a different perspective, the USA has also used the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 after the 2016 presidential elections to sanction Russian Oligarchs. According to American intelligence organizations, Russian intelligence, through inter also some Oligarchs did interfere with the 2016 presidential elections in a bid to subvert US democracy (Welt et al., 2019). On the other hand, the US has accused Russians of going contravening its sanctions against North Korea, leading to retaliatory sanctions against Russian Oligarchs. Unlike the US economy that runs as a corporatocracy, the Russian economy revolves around powerful individuals dunned Oligarchs. Sanctions against these individuals thus have a direct impact on the Russian economy. Currently, there is a lack of cohesion among American leaders on the issue of Russian sanctions (Polyakova, 2019). Some factions calling for stronger sanction against Russia while another faction led by US President Donald Trump seeks for a friendlier approach towards Russia. 

Overview of Effectiveness 

US sanctions against Russia have been effective but not in the purposes for which the government intended them. As the most geopolitically powerful nation on earth, US sanctions carry a lot of authority and few nations are willing to breach them. Sanctions against the sale of Russian military equipment has been effective globally with only a few exceptions. Many nations of the world have also adhered to US sanctions against Russian Oligarchs. By extension, the economy of Russia as a whole and the welfare of its populace has suffered due to the existence of US sanctions. To this extent, the sanctions have had the intended effect on Russia itself. 

However, with regard to the long-term effects of Russian sanctions, there has not yet been any evidence of effectiveness. For a start, the original sanctions meant to protect Russians from human rights abuses and these have clearly failed. As of 2019, Russia is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be an investigative journalist or political dissenter (Ljubas, 2019). Seven years of human rights-based sanction have thus not had any substantive effect. Conversely, Russia still occupies the Ukrainian region of Crimea and continues with its belligerent stance towards Ukraine. On this front, therefore, five years of sanctions have not been effective. Conversely, according to experts, there is a high congruence between North Koreas nuclear weapons and those developed by Russia (Brumfiel, 2019). Most importantly, intelligence agencies inside the US federal government believe that Russia interfered with the 2018 midterm elections and is in the process of interring with the 2020 presidential elections (Brattberg & Maurer, 2018). In term of long-term effects, therefore, sanctions against Russia have been a monumental failure. 

Sanctions Against China 

Whereas most of the nations around the world suffer American sanctions haplessly, China has had the ability to escalate US sanctions into a trade war. America and China have had a chequered relationship. On the one hand, the USA is a quasi-supporter of Taiwan, a nation that China and indeed the United Nations consider a part of China (Chen et al., 2017). The two nations have the most powerful and second most powerful economies in the world respectively. Further, the USA and China are the two most geopolitically powerful nations on earth. In the last few decades, China has seen a meteoric rise in its economy and global influence, including in the USA (World Bank Group, 2019). The rise of China placed it in direct competition with the only superpower, the USA, with some alleging that China is the future superpower. It is primarily due to the economic competition between the two nations that America has issued sanctions against China. 

Most US sanctions are reactive in nature and come into place as a direct consequence of the actions of the target nation. However, sanctions against China can be termed as premediated. Indeed, it would be plausible to argue that sanctions against China are one of the reasons that Donald Trump is US president. The meteoric rise of China as a global economic power was not pristine in nature. (Thomas, 2017) On the one hand, China has a communist history that has ensured that most of its commerce or government-controlled. Conversely, China has engendered a material disregard of intellectual property on a massive level. Chinese companies, most of whom have government connections repeatedly abuse intellectual property with impunity and to the detriment of American companies (Thomas, 2017). Trump as a presidential candidate promised to reign in China hence sanctions against China were premeditated. 

The primary form of US sanctions against China is in the form of tariffs. In March 2018, the US government imposed tariffs on about 60 billion worth of Chinese imposed based on Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. China responded with issuing tariffs on a variety of US products including farm produce (Prasad, 2019). With a population of over 1.3 billion people, China is a massive market for US agricultural products. In May 2018, the US increased the scope of tariffs of Chinese goods leading to retaliation by China in June 2018. Negotiations began between the two powerful nations in a bid to end the trade war. However, at the beginning of August 2019, the USA announced a minimum of 10% tariffs in all Chinese goods! In response, China placed a moratorium on the purchase of all US agricultural products. 

Over and above the sanctions against China as outlined above, the US government has also sanctioned Chinese companies for a variety of reasons. A good example is the sanctioning of Chinese companies suspected of failing to adhere to US sanctions against nations such as North Korea and Iran. On the other hand, the US has accused Chinese companies of espionage on American companies for economic benefit. Among corporate sanctions issued, include Instituting criminal charges against Chinese Company Huawei and its CFO Wanzhou Meng. The US has also created stringent rules limiting the ability of Chinese companies to operate in the American IT market. In an extreme move, the US government also issued blanket global sanctions against Huawei, a move that has the potential to cripple the massive global company. 

Overview of Effectiveness 

As with all American sanctions, the sanctions against China have been effective per se, but they have not had the effect that the USA anticipated when it instituted them. However, to some extent, sanctions against China have not entirely failed. The conduct of the two countries in the near future and the outcome of the 2020 presidential elections will be a key determinant of the outcomes of the said sanctions. Finally, to some extent, American sanctions against China have backfired to the detriment of the USA (Gros, et al., 2019). Beginning with the adverse effects, unlike almost any other country in the world, China has the ability to retaliate against American sanctions competently, and has done so (Prasad, 2019). A good example is issuing its own sanctions against America. American belligerence has also helped empower the Chinese president. As of March 2018, President Xi has risen to become a de facto life president of China (BBC, 2018). Another negative effect of sanctions related to tariffs, which by their nature come at the expense of American consumers (Gros, et al., 2019). Currently, the sanctions duel between China and the USA continues to the detriment of the economies of the two countries. The eventual effect and effectiveness of the sanctions depend on how the two nations act in the future. 

Sanctions Against Venezuela 

Russia has ignored US sanctions while China is fighting back but Venezuela might just crumble. Just as with China, the relationship between the USA and Venezuela is chequered. On the one hand, Venezuela is an oil producer and its geographical location enables it to assist the US in its war on narcotics (Economic online 2013). Due to these two critical bearing factors, the US has been especially kind to Venezuela. Indeed, the nation has gotten away with geopolitical issues for which America would have heavily sanctioned any other nation. For example, Venezuela openly embraced communism while its president Hugo Chavez both visited President Saddam Hussein and called President Bush the devil at the UN (Economic online 2013)! However, before 2019, the only sanctions against Venezuela were those prohibiting arms sales to the nation. 

In 2018, Venezuela held controversial presidential elections where election officials declared incumbent Nicolas Maduro the winner. Opposition parties disputed the results and declared the Juan Guaidó, the president of the National Assembly of Venezuela as interim president (Taylor, 2019). The USA, as well as almost 60 other nations around the world, have recognized Juan as the official interim president of Venezuela. However, socialist-leaning nations such as China and Russia support Maduro, leading to a political crisis in Venezuela. The US government applied the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 to institute individual sanctions on the Maduro administration. However, Maduro did not resign as expected. Vide an executive order executed on the 5 th day of August 2019; President Trump instituted what is arguably the most stringent sanctions on any nation (Taylor, 2019). The sanctions place a blockade on all trade with Venezuela and freeze all of Venezuela’s assets in the USA. The US intended to cripple the Venezuelan government hence forcing Maduro out of office, to pave way for a future free and fair presidential election. 

Overview of Effectiveness 

Considering that the substantive sanctions against Venezuela only came about in August 2019, it would be premature to gauge their effectiveness. However, history has shown that Venezuela is impervious to US sanctions (Taylor, 2019). Whereas corruption and mismanagement have crippled the economy of Venezuela, support from powerful allies such as China and Russia limits the effects of US sanctions. For a start, the embargo on the purchase of weapons never changed the stance of Hugo Chaves against the USA. Secondly, the personalized sanctions in 2019 did not lead to the fall of Maduro’s government. Therefore, up until now, Sanctions against Venezuela have not seemed to work save for augmenting the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela according to Taylor (2019). 

Sanctions Against Cuba 

Most nations of the world have generally supported the US in its sanctions but the same does not apply for Cuba. The US sanctions against Cuba have been ongoing for over half a century (Miller, 2019). These sanctions are also peculiar in that since 1992, the United Nations has consistently condemned these sanctions. The world generally refers to the US sanctions against Cuba as a blockade since they actually began as a navy blockade around the island. The same blockade, which formed part of the Cuban Missile Crisis, which almost precipitated a nuclear conflict (Hershberg & LeoGrande, 2016). Fortunately, for humankind, the said crisis was alleviated but the blockade remained, in the form of sanctions. 

America basis its sanctions of Cuba on a variety of issues and excuses. For a start, in 1960, the Island nation nationalized all Cuban oil refineries, which included about a billion dollars in American investment (Miller, 2019). Half a century later, the US still holds a grudge. Conversely, the USA has accused Cuba of engaging in human rights abuses. Most importantly, the Cuban government took the Soviet side against the Americans during the Cold War, leading to the aforementioned Cuban Missile crisis of 1962. Cuba has had US sanctions on a continuous basis since 1958 (Lee & McBride, 2019)! The Sanctions began with a weapons embargo in 1958, followed by an all goods embargo in 1960! For more than half a century, respective US governments made changes to the said sanctions (Hershberg & LeoGrande, 2016). As a trend, Democratic governments relax the sanctions while Republican ones make them more stringent. Under the current Republican government, the executive has taken measures to reinforce sanctions against Cuba. In an amusing twist, however, President Trump’s companies are on record as having infringed on the sanctions in the past (Kenney & Norris, 2017). 

Overview of Effectiveness 

American sanctions against Cuba are arguably its greatest geopolitical failure. Granted, the sanctions have severely limited economic interactions between the USA and Cuba. They have also exponentially limited transactions between American companies and Cuba. However, in spite of the sanctions, Cuba has neither paid back the debt it owes Americans for their oil investments nor gone back on its communist leanings (Miller, 2019). Despite American sanctions, Cuban strongman Fidel Castro remained in power for over half a century. Fidel’s brother Raul then took over as president. Further, Americans and American companies still do business with Cuba, either by circumventing the sanctions or breaching them as Donald Trump once did (Kenney & Norris, 2017). America is still a close trading partner to Cuba, hence the monumental failure of the so-called Cuban Blockade. 

Sanctions Against North Korea 

Just as the world is united in opposing US sanction on Cuba, it is united in supporting its sanctions against North Korea. The history of American sanctions against North Korea dates back to the Korean War in 1950, under the US Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917 (Chang, 2019). The sanctioned remained in force until 2008 since technically, the Korean War never ended. Over and above the war-based sanctions, the USA under the auspices of the United Nations also issued a barrage of sanctions against North Korea in a bid to force the nation to end its nuclear program. In an interesting sanction seesaw, North Korea regularly undertakes to end its nuclear program leading to a relaxation of sanctions (Chang, 2019). However, the pariah nation has constantly failed to live to its obligations to end its nuclear programs. 

After 2008, America has placed a cascade of increasing sanctions on North Korea, based on the conduct of the countries government. Among the grounds for gradually increasing sanctions, including human rights abuses, cyber-attacks, and intercontinental missile tests (Albert, 2019). In the course of his presidential campaigns, President Trump undertook to solve the nuclear weapons process in the Korean Peninsula. True to his word, President Trump instituted some of the toughest sanctions yet against North Korea, including almost fully eliminating its ability to make any foreign exchange. Further, the USA has harnessed its massive geopolitical clout to ensure that all nations around the world adhere with its sanctions against North Korea. Interestingly, North Korea has found an unlikely ally in South Korea, which has been seeking diplomatic ties with its pariah neighbor (Chang, 2019). 

Overview of Effectiveness 

Sanctions against North Korea have been ongoing since the 1950s and are still being strengthened in 2019 yet its despotic regime still stands strong. Further North Korea has continued to create nuclear weapons and the said nation is in the process of creating an intercontinental ballistic missile. By 2019, the US and indeed the world has thrown almost every possible sanction at North Korea, yet the nation does not seem to relent (Albert, 2019). The said sanctions have been effective in making North Koreas among the poorest citizens win the world. Problems such as food insecurity are common in North Korea, a nation that is across the border from South Korea, a nation with one of the highest human development indices in the world. North Korea is in the middle of negotiations both with the US and South Korea to end its nuclear program. However, until the nation agrees to and effects denuclearization, sanctions against it should be considered a failure. 

Conclusion 

It is evident that the USA has the ability and will to institute sanctions but the efforts have so far been met with limited success. Russia has chosen to ignore American sanctions and act as if they do not exist. China, a rising power in the world has elected to fight back against American sanctions. So far, China seems to be holding its stead against America. Venezuela has withstood American sanctions for some time now but it is definitively bound to crumble. Cuba, a small Central American Island would not stand a chance against American sanctions. However, the world, including some Americans has rallied towards Cuba enabling it to thrive in spite of the sanctions. Finally, North Korea has presented itself as a nation capable of ignoring the plight presented to its populace by American sanctions. The general trend with regard to US sanctions is that they do not seem to attain the acquired outcome, yet they do result in some form of outcome. This trend calls for a re-evaluation on the entire concept of sanctions issued by the USA, both with regard to nature and efficacy. For example, it is possible that the sanctions are not severe enough. On the other hand, it is also possible that officials do not target the sanctions properly. The events in both North Korea and Venezuela create some home that extreme sanctions with proper implementation can be effective. Conversely, it should be noted that the narrative above is not in any way an indictment on sanctions as a means of solving international problems. Sanctions may not be foolproof but they are much better than either armed conflict or condoning evil. 

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