Secondary sanctions

Due to their extraterritorial nature, secondary sanctions remain controversial in international relations. This chapter traces the emergence of secondary sanctions as a political weapon by examining the development of the sophisticated sanctions regime in the US. The chapter explores how the expansion of U.S. domestic law to encompass secondary sanctions as a foreign policy tool, and subsequent approach to extraterritoriality, led to the robust effectiveness of the U.S. regime. It then describes how states can, and cannot, combat secondary sanctions by reviewing what the EU has done in response to US secondary sanctions and provides commentary on what the EU could do going forward. Finally, the chapter examines the legality of the extraterritorial nature of secondary sanctions, such as those issued by the US, under international law.