Secondary Sanctions: A Weapon out of Control? The International Legality of, and European Responses to, US Secondary Sanctions

In: The British yearbook of international law

Abstract

Abstract
The US is increasingly weaponizing economic sanctions to push through its foreign policy agenda. Making use of the centrality of the US in the global economy, it has imposed 'secondary sanctions' on foreign firms, which are forced to choose between trading with US sanctions targets or forfeiting access to the lucrative US market. In addition, the US has penalized foreign firms for breaching US sanctions legislation. In this contribution, it is argued that the international lawfulness of at least some secondary sanctions is doubtful in light of the customary international law of jurisdiction, as well as conventional international law (eg, WTO law). The lawfulness of these sanctions could be contested before various domestic and international judicial mechanisms, although each mechanism comes with its own limitations. To counter the adverse effects of secondary sanctions, third states and the EU can also make use of, and have already made use of, various non-judicial mechanisms, such as blocking statutes, special purpose vehicles to circumvent the reach of sanctions, or even countermeasures. The effectiveness of such mechanisms is, however, uncertain.