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Biden Continues Trump's Devastating Sanctions; Yellen's Treasury Dept misses a chance for reform
https://prospect.org/world/biden-continues-trumps-devastating-sanctions/As President Biden took office in January, a complex lattice of U.S. sanctions hampered the ability of Iranians to get access to basic COVID treatments and supplies, like syringes, infusion pumps, and testing kits. Desperate doctors had been forced to plead with global audiences for relief.
While the full pandemic-era toll of U.S. sanctions is difficult to track, the Brookings Institution estimated that, between May and September of 2020, U.S. sanctions were responsible for an additional 13,000 deaths from COVID-19 in Iran alone. The full devastation is likely much greater, as U.S. sanctions have been dramatically ratcheting upward around the world in recent years. Two decades ago, there were 912 designations in place internationally; today there are more than 9,000.
Initially, there were indicators that these harsh policies might change. The day after Biden was inaugurated, he issued a review of how U.S. sanctions are “unduly hindering responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.” That very day, at her nomination hearing, Janet Yellen said the Treasury “will conduct a careful review of sanctions to ensure that they are targeted, effective, and minimize unintended consequences.” And then in March, a senior official said a review of the sanctions program was ongoing.
Biden says he wants to reorient his foreign policy away from the “forever wars” he repeatedly denounced on the campaign trail. But on the issue of sanctions, the administration has been downright retrograde, and it’s impossible to turn the page from forever wars without halting these cruel policies.
While the full pandemic-era toll of U.S. sanctions is difficult to track, the Brookings Institution estimated that, between May and September of 2020, U.S. sanctions were responsible for an additional 13,000 deaths from COVID-19 in Iran alone. The full devastation is likely much greater, as U.S. sanctions have been dramatically ratcheting upward around the world in recent years. Two decades ago, there were 912 designations in place internationally; today there are more than 9,000.
Initially, there were indicators that these harsh policies might change. The day after Biden was inaugurated, he issued a review of how U.S. sanctions are “unduly hindering responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.” That very day, at her nomination hearing, Janet Yellen said the Treasury “will conduct a careful review of sanctions to ensure that they are targeted, effective, and minimize unintended consequences.” And then in March, a senior official said a review of the sanctions program was ongoing.
Biden says he wants to reorient his foreign policy away from the “forever wars” he repeatedly denounced on the campaign trail. But on the issue of sanctions, the administration has been downright retrograde, and it’s impossible to turn the page from forever wars without halting these cruel policies.
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