President Joe Biden recently ordered a review of all U.S. and multilateral financial and economic sanctions to see if they are hindering the COVID-19 pandemic response. The Jan. 21 executive order calls on the secretaries of the State, Treasury and Commerce departments, with input from the Department of Health and Human Services secretary and the U.S. Agency for International Development administrator, to conduct the review and provide recommendations on the state of these sanctions to the national security adviser and COVID-19 response coordinator. This sanctions-review provision is part of a broader order on reestablishing American leadership in the global pandemic response and reorienting the U.S.'s national security priorities to combat COVID-19.
No short-term action should be expected on sanctions, export controls or foreign investment scrutiny, as President Joe Biden takes over U.S. trade policy following President Donald Trump's thorough shake-up of traditional policy, lawyers said on a Thompson Hine webinar Jan. 19. The Trump administration made significant policy changes in all three of these areas, and it appears Biden will shy away from any immediate course reversal due to a stated desire to focus initially on domestic concerns and to use Trump measures as a leverage point in future negotiations, lawyer David Schwartz of Thompson Hine said. The only difference the lawyers predict for the Biden administration will be in the general approach to these issues, with a special emphasis on a more measured tone, they said. For instance, while the sanctions themselves may stay in place, Biden will shift from dubbing the White House's approach to Iran as a “maximum pressure” campaign to one that applies “compliance pressure,” Schwartz said. He also predicts a more measured use of the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List to promote multilateral cooperation.