Tag: Embargoes and Sanctions

Russia Bill Broadens Sanctions but Could Fuel Fears Over the Dollar

Media Library

A Russia sanctions bill is posing a dilemma for the Trump administration: Lawmakers are pushing to wage further financial warfare just as the administration worries that heavy use of sanctions may erode the U.S. dollar’s supremacy. The bill, which was the brainchild of Senator Lindsey Graham before his death, aims to impose mandatory sanctions on Russia and its allies and potentially broaden the reach of penalties to include tariffs on buyers of Russian energy. The White House has said that the scope of the sanctions could broaden to include Iran…

Iran Just Taught the World a Dangerous Lesson

Media Library

The United States and Iran have a deal: For 60 days, Tehran will allow ships to sail through the Strait of Hormuz without charging tolls; in return, Washington will lift its naval blockade, waive sanctions on Iranian oil and help Iran get access to its frozen assets. Negotiations on the future of Iran’s nuclear program are also set to begin. Even if the deal holds, Iran is poised to emerge from the war battered militarily and economically but strengthened strategically, the newly empowered gatekeeper of the world’s most important energy…

While the World Scrambles for Oil, China Sits on Full Tanks

Media Library

While the United States and Iran haggle over reopening the Strait of Hormuz and restoring oil exports from the Persian Gulf, China, the world’s largest oil importer, is not expected to quickly ramp up purchases from the region. If normal traffic through the strait fully resumes in the coming weeks, numerous tankers carrying oil bound for China that have been stranded in the Persian Gulf during the war would be on the move again. Their eventual arrival at Chinese ports is likely to produce a temporary surge in deliveries. China…

U.S. Will Waive Oil Sanctions That Have Long Crimped Iran

Media Library

The U.S. will lift sanctions on Iran’s oil industry when a preliminary deal is signed in what amounts to a major financial win for the country. Iran’s energy industry — the lifeblood of its economy — has been subject to financial restrictions for many years. Assuming its deal with the United States holds, Iran will probably be able to charge more for the oil it exports and sell that fuel to many more buyers. It is one area where the country appears likely to end the war on better footing…

Videos Show Chinese Businesses Hawking North Korean Labor

Media Library

Quick deliveries of large orders for stuffed toys, fake eyelashes and crocheted bags that are made with cheap labor, including some workers who are on the job for 16 hours straight. This is the pitch some Chinese businesses are making on social media to potential customers. But the products they are selling are made in North Korea, like in this video of a wig factory. In the posts, which have proliferated in recent years, some Chinese entrepreneurs say that they own factories in North Korea and openly share contact information,…

Rubio, Once a China Hawk, Strikes Softer Tone to Align With Trump

Media Library

Before he shook hands with President Xi Jinping of China in Beijing this past week, Marco Rubio was an official enemy of the Chinese state. As a senator representing Florida, Mr. Rubio was among Mr. Xi’s harshest critics in Washington. He accused the Chinese leader of “crimes against humanity” and of plotting to weaken the United States. Fed up, Mr. Xi’s government placed sanctions on Mr. Rubio in 2020 and banned him from entering the country. So Mr. Rubio, now President Trump’s secretary of state and national security adviser, posed…

What to Watch at Trump and Xi’s U.S.-China Summit

Media Library

The summit between the leaders of the United States and China in Beijing this week represents a pivotal moment for a global economy that has been upended by war and trade tension over the past year. President Trump and China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, will have a full agenda to cover, as the world’s two largest economies look for ways to cooperate on geopolitical matters and tamp down differences over tariffs, export controls, Taiwan, sanctions and purchases of American farm products. Mr. Trump will be seeking to open China’s market…

How the U.S. Is Trying to Ensure the Dollar’s Dominance During Economic Turmoil

Media Library

The summit between President Trump and China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, in Beijing this week is likely to include tense discussions about tariffs, Taiwan, Iran and sanctions. But simmering below the surface is another battle between the United States and China: an intensifying currency war. Concerns about America’s mounting debt load and its aggressive use of sanctions to cut adversaries off from the Western financial system have raised doubts about the safety of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. Those fears have led to growing demand for gold and…

In Talks With Iran, China Calls for Opening of Strait of Hormuz

Media Library

China’s top diplomat met with Iran’s foreign minister on Wednesday and called for greater efforts to open the Strait of Hormuz and for an end to the war, after the Trump administration pressed Beijing to help end Tehran’s chokehold over the waterway. Meeting in Beijing with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China said that stopping the war was a matter of urgency, according to an official summary of their meeting issued by Xinhua, China’s main state news agency. While Mr. Wang was careful not to…

U.S. Warns China Over Iranian Oil as Sanctions Fight Intensifies

Media Library

The United States on Monday urged China to push Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and said that its purchases of Iranian oil amounted to funding global terrorism, delivering a stern rebuke ahead of President Trump’s meeting in Beijing this month with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping. The warning came from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who will be participating in the high-stakes meetings. Mr. Bessent has been leading an aggressive campaign to cripple Iran’s economy with a blitz of new sanctions. He has also been working to devise ways…