Saturday, November 23

Sanctions

Sanctions are a key aspect of global diplomacy.  They reveal international relations through a concrete lens. It’s a primary tool for policymakers to implement foreign policy decisions. It has a real-world impact on finance, trade, and investments. A key question is, do they work to implement change or influence another country’s decisions? We look at both international and unilateral sanctions. This topic overlaps with global diplomacy and touches on areas of banking and global finance.

U.S. Treasury Cracks Down on Cuba-Related Travel
13Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Globalization, Global Disintegration, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Treasury Cracks Down on Cuba-Related Travel

June 13, 2019-Just a week after the U.S. government announced tougher restrictions on traveling to Cuba, the U.S. Treasury Department announced it reached settlement agreements with internet-travel firm Expedia and Hotbeds USA for apparent violations of the U.S. Cuban Assets Control Regulations. The two actions, which relate to separate areas of the U.S. sanctions law, demonstrate the new emphasis in the United States on tightening and enforcing sanctions against Cuba. Enforcement Targets Travel Agencies Today, the U.S. Treasury 's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced settlement agreements with travel groups Expedia and Hotelbeds USA for assisting Americans for unauthorized Cuba-related travel. Headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, the Expedia Group agreed to pay $325,40...
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Second U.S.-North Korea Summit Ends
28Feb By Patti MohrNo Comments
Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

Second U.S.-North Korea Summit Ends

Feb. 28, 2019--U.S. President Donald Trump and  DPRK Leader Kim Jong Un concluded their series of meetings in Hanoi, Vietnam without a signing ceremony or changes in policies. "Sometimes you have to walk, and this was just one of those times," Trump said at a televised press conference after the meetings. "At this time, we had some options, and at this time we decided not to do any of the options." The United States has been pushing the North Korean state to denuclearize -- a term that could include accounting for its nuclear weapons, allowing international inspectors inside its facilities and dismantling them. North Korea has been asking the international community to lift economic sanctions against it, at least partially. Flattery and Promises of Economic Success Throughout th...
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Global Exchange Bars Iranian Banks in Wake of U.S. Sanctions
13Nov By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

Global Exchange Bars Iranian Banks in Wake of U.S. Sanctions

Nov. 13, 2018--U.S. sanctions against Iran are beginning to hit the banking sector, making international exchange difficult for Iran and its trading partners. Over the weekend, a global messaging system needed for international trade cut Iranian banks off from its exchange. Without access, Iranian traders cannot conduct business abroad using with bank-to-bank money transfers. As the ban takes effect, international transactions with Iranian banks and traders may come to a halt. Furthermore, the impact on banking transactions brings diplomatic rifts between the United States and the European Union to the surface. SWIFT's Hard Hit The Brussels-based SWIFT system started disconnecting some Iranian banks from its network over the weekend. A SWIFT statement reported by Reuters called the...
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New U.S. Sanctions Against Iran Go Into Effect
5Nov By Patti MohrNo Comments
Energy Policy, Oil & Gas, Global Trade, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

New U.S. Sanctions Against Iran Go Into Effect

Nov. 5, 2018--Six months after pulling out of the six-party nuclear deal, the United States has launched new sanctions against Iran, impacting its banks, shipping industry, businesses and individuals. The sanctions block assets and transactions on over 900 targets, many of them newly named. "They'll be the toughest sanctions ever placed against the Islamic Republic of Iran," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday in an interview with CBS News. The sanctions mean that companies doing business with both the U.S. and Iranian firms will have to make a choice: Pick a side. You cannot do business with both countries. According to Pompeo, some business leaders quit conducting business in Iran based on the U.S. decision to withdraw from the six-party nuclear deal. "European co...
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“This is the third time the United States and North Korea have started down this path toward denuclearization and normalization of relations. Previous efforts failed not just because the North Koreans cheated, but because neither side fulfilled its commitments.”
15Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Sanctions, Types of News: Quotes

“This is the third time the United States and North Korea have started down this path toward denuclearization and normalization of relations. Previous efforts failed not just because the North Koreans cheated, but because neither side fulfilled its commitments.”

Third Time Is A Charm? In analyzing the Trump-Kim Summit, Rand Corp. Senior Fellow James Dobbins says sustainable progress in dismantling North Korea's nuclear infrastructure would take 10-15 years. "At least one of the two leaders will no longer be in office by then," Dobbins said. "And the United States can never be certain that Pyongyang has surrendered every single nuclear weapon." He credits South Korean President Moon Jae-in for negotiating a path forward with North Korea and the warming relations between Kim and Trump. If nothing else, the summit may provide relief to most Americans and Koreans agitated last year by the heated rhetoric and threats of a nuclear showdown between Trump and Kim. For more, see the Rand Corp. blog piece, 'Why This Wasn't Kim's Father'. &nb...
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North Korea State TV Produces Documentary of Kim’s Singapore Trip
14Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief, Types of News: Videos

North Korea State TV Produces Documentary of Kim’s Singapore Trip

June 14, 2018 - A state-television station for North Korea produced a documentary of its leader's trip to Singapore, featuring Kim Jong-un as a patriot who has arrived on the world stage. The 42-minute video on KCTV resembles a travelogue that pays tribute to Kim's ascent in the global conscientiousness. The video clips provide a glimpse into the way the DPRK views the summit. It also sheds light on the fact that Kim and his rogue nation have been isolated from seeing and participating in the rest of the world. Although Kim attended school in Switzerland as a child, he has only traveled outside of North Korea twice -- to China last March and South Korea last April -- since becoming the country's "Supreme Leader" in 2011. The Singapore trip, therefore, was a big deal for him and his coun...
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Reactions from Around the World to the Kim-Trump Meeting
13Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Communism, Dictatorship, Diplomacy, Sanctions, Types of News: Analysis

Reactions from Around the World to the Kim-Trump Meeting

NEWS ANALYSIS June 12, 2018--People say the devil is in the details. And with the joint statement signed by U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-Un, the world has very little details with which to judge the outcome. In essence, the statement speaks to the leaders' intentions to establish relations between the two countries and to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. It is non-binding, and it probably carries less wait in the world of global politics than any one of Trump's tweets. Still, it made for a good photo opportunity for both leaders. Promises Pledged Trump said he would guarantee security to the North Korean (DPRK) government regime and end joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises. Kim said he would work toward denuclearization of the Korean Pen...
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Trump, Kim Meet in Singapore, Agree to Establish U.S.-North Korean Relations
12Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

Trump, Kim Meet in Singapore, Agree to Establish U.S.-North Korean Relations

June 12--U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-Un sign a statement of intentions to establish relations and to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula after meeting in Singapore. According to the non-binding statement, posted on the White House website, the United States and North Korea (DPRK) agree to the following: To establish new U.S.–DPRK relations in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity. To join their efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. To work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, as outlined in the April 27, 2018 Panmunjom Declaration. To recover POW/MIA remains, including the immediate repatriation of those already identified. It was...
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Trump-Kim Jong-Un Meeting Called Off
24May By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Sanctions

Trump-Kim Jong-Un Meeting Called Off

May 24--After a series of diplomatic setbacks, the prospective meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Un for June 12 in Singapore is now cancelled. In a letter to Kim posted on the White House, Trump wrote, "Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting." Earlier in the day, North Korean Vice-Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui issued an angry response to a Fox News interview by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, in which Pence referenced a comparison by U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton of North Korea to Libya. Libya underwent a revolution and loss of leadership years after its government agreed to dismantle its nuclear ...
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In 2018, Russian Economy Carried On Amid Sanctions
23Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Globalization, Global Disintegration, Sanctions, Types of News: Analysis

In 2018, Russian Economy Carried On Amid Sanctions

March 23, 2018-Despite four years of sanctions, the Russian economy appears stronger and more immune to sanctions from the United States and the European Union. As tensions continue to rise and new sanctions go into effect, many Russians who adapted to trade restrictions with the West appear to shrug off the threat of new measures. The economy now grows at a rate of 1.7 percent, having fully recovered from its recession. It is worth asking, what effect the sanctions are having on the Russian economy? In the following article, the Global Economic Report looks at the ways the country overcame sanctions to resume economic growth. Four Years of Sanctions Since Russia annexed the Crimea from the Ukraine in 2014, it has faced sanctions from the European Union and the United States. In March of...
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