Sanctions are now a central tool of governments' foreign policy
WhatsApp IN 2016 JACK LEW, America’s then treasury secretary, reflected on how his country had, over decades, “refined our capacity to apply sanctions effectively”. But he also gave a warning: overuse “could undermine our leadership position within the global economy, and the effectiveness of our sanctions themselves”. If the message was “proceed with caution”, it was lost on Donald Trump, who became president soon after. The screw was turned against China, Iran, Russia, Venezuela and others. The steady increase in sanctions “proved to be a rare constant” on Mr Trump’s wat...