"'There is a very healthy pipeline of Treasury officials being snapped up by foreign banks and companies to go help them observe U.S. sanctions law.' That's Elizabeth Rosenberg, herself a former senior Treasury official, now at the Center for a New American Security. She says the U.S. is regarded as a stable, safe place for global entities to park their money, and the U.S. dollar is the most commonly used hard currency in the world. "'The thing about the dollar in [...]

"'Sanctions are a tool of first resort when it comes to foreign policy, and are certainly a favorite for this administration,' said Elizabeth Rosenberg, senior fellow and director of the Energy, Economics, and Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, and a former Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, to the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. While the Obama administration heightened U.S. reliance on sanctions, under Trump, the executive branch and Congress have [...]

"This week, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo moved to end sanctions waivers on Iranian oil—a major step to increase financial pressure on Tehran. The new policy, once it goes into force on May 2, aims to force China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Turkey to stop buying crude from Iran, depriving the country of its primary source of cash. "In the near term, the pressure tactic will mostly work, successfully siphoning off a significant share of Iran’s oil exports. The [...]