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US 2025 | Perspectives from The Risk Advisory Group
One of the key pieces in the US foreign policy toolkit is economic sanctions. Multiple past administrations have increasingly relied on the US’s control of the international finance and banking system to issue sweeping economic and trade restrictions in pursuit of a wide range of policy objectives, including combating international criminal and drug trafficking organisations, stopping proliferation of nuclear weapons and preventing human rights abuses.
Interestingly, despite a sharply divided political climate in Washington, sanctions appear to be one of the few areas of common ground between leaders on both sides of the aisle. Trump’s first term built on the Obama-era sanctions enacted against Russia and Iran, for example, and Biden carried on with many of Trump’s foreign policy positions, to include:
- The strategic distance from Cuba normalisation
- The decision to forgo JCPOA renegotiation with Iran
- Commitment to the Abraham Accords framework
- A firm stance on China trade policy
- Implementation of the Afghanistan withdrawal
While we anticipate Trump’s return will largely maintain these policy trajectories, his personal affinity for dealmaking and desire to make grand bargains could produce unexpected diplomatic breakthroughs, or risk further distancing the US from its most important partners and allies. In the weeks ahead, we will offer insight and detailed analysis of what potential sanctions policy may look like under Trump 2.0. Our analysis will explore:
- Key sanctions hotspots and emerging situations
- Opportunities for bipartisan cooperation
- Areas of potential policy shifts
- Impact on global markets and international relations