What exactly are the Russia sanctions?

Quick Summary

The U.S. has a history of issuing sanctions against Russia for crimes ranging from human rights abuse to military aggression. President Obama issued sanctions in 2012, 2014, and 2016. When Trump took office, many believed he may try to soften relations with Putin. So far, his record has been a roller-coaster. In 2017, he signed a sanctions law, but never enforced it. In 2018, he finally issued several sanctions — targeting both individual Russian oligarchs and businesses with whom he himself has ties — but later offered to negotiate and soften them. This sends mixed messages to Russia: Is Trump really putting America first?

A sanction is a penalty for disobeying a law or rule; it is an action taken by one country against another, either through economic, diplomatic, military, or other means. Economic sanctions restrict or prohibit financial and trade partnerships with another country. Sanctions are used to send a message; a country can impose sanctions on another to discourage certain types of behavior. In this case, U.S. sanctions are meant to put pressure on Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.

Watch: Trump’s inaction on Russian election interference

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2012

Signed in December 2012 by President Obama, the Magnitsky Act was retaliation for abuses against its namesake, Sergei Magnitsky. A Russian lawyer, Magnitsky was imprisoned for uncovering widespread, Kremlin-linked tax fraud totalling $230 million. Magnitsky eventually died from neglect and abuse in jail, which garnered a response from the U.S.

2014

President Obama issued sanctions by executive order when Russia invaded and annexed Crimea. Its subsequent military aggression in eastern Ukraine led to even more sanctions. The sanctions target Russia’s energy sector.

In March 2014, the U.S., the European Union, Canada, and other countries issued sanctions on Russia as a direct response to Russian military aggression and its annexation of the Crimean peninsula. The Obama administration issued executive orders to restrict travel to Ukraine and economic sanctions against “individuals and entities.”
In July 2014, the U.S. joined the European Union in intensifying economic pressure on Moscow following the strike on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. American sanctions restricted transactions with Russian defense and energy firms and limited Russian banks’ access to the US economy.
In December 2014, Obama issued further sanctions restricting U.S. goods and services to Crimea.

2016

In December 2016, in one of his final acts as president, Obama responded to Russian election interference, or “Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities”, and sanctioned four Russian individuals and five Russian entities.

Watch: Trump’s failures on Russia’s election interference

2017

When Donald Trump took office in January 2017, he considered rolling back the sanctions to improve U.S.-Russia relations. Critics viewed this strategy with skepticism, as many of Trump’s business ties to Russia have direct links to the Obama-era sanctions.

Yet after Congress overwhelmingly passed a new sanctions bill in response to Russia’s meddling in the 2016 elections, Trump reluctantly signed it into law. The Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) restricts American cooperation in Russia’s energy and oil sectors, and limits individual Russians working in defense or intelligence. The U.S. would also gain access to bank records of Russian oligarchs and earmark $250 million for a Countering Russian Intelligence fund.

Including measures against Iran and North Korea, this law specifically targets Russia’s economy by restricting its energy and defense sectors, which comprise a large part of its GDP. The sanctions:

Target corruption, arms sales, export of oil and gas by Putin and other Russian oligarchs
Protect existing sanctions, which were in response to aggression in Ukraine and cyberattacks against the U.S. Congress is required to review any sanctions relief
Amend the existing sanctions to benefit American manufacturers instead of Russian energy oligarchs

2018

In 2018, the Trump administration grew more erratic. Over the first four months of the year, Trump changed his mind over the Russia sanctions on numerous occasions.

In January, Trump decided not to enforce the 2017 CAATSA sanctions, despite the law. Then CIA Director Mike Pompeo said that the threat of sanctions are enough of a deterrent alone, and that there was no need to actually impose them. But on Jan. 26, the Trump administration designated the names of 21 individuals and nine entities under an existing executive order related to Crimea.

Watch: Trump sanctions Iran, but not Russia

On Feb. 16, Special Counsel Mueller indicted 13 Russians for election interference.

On March 15, Trump reversed his position once again, and announced new sanctions on five entities and 19 individuals connected to Russia as punishment for election meddling, cyber-attacks and a potential attack on the US energy grid. These sanctions target the Internet Research Agency, also known as a “Russian troll farm.” But most of them were already under previous sanctions or indictments, leading many to wonder if they would make any difference. The timing also coincided with a nerve gas attack on a former British spy and his daughter in the U.K.

Watch: Russian payments to Michael Cohen

On April 6, Trump announced new sanctions yet again, targeting seven Russian oligarchs, 12 companies they own or control, 17 senior Russian government officials, and a state-owned Russian weapons trading company. Some of the oligarchs even have ties to Trump:

Oleg Deripaska, who has ties to eight of the sanctioned companies, is extensively connected to Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort
Viktor Vekselberg, whose cousin donated $250,000 to Trump’s inauguration fund
Alexander Torshin, who met Trump at the 2016 NRA Convention
Mikhail Fradkov, a Russian politician who developed a plan in 2016 for the Russian government to influence the presidential elections

Watch: Why aren’t we talking about Alexander Torshin?

On April 15, Trump sanctioned Russia once more to pressure Russia regarding its alliance with Syria, and its aggressive use of chemical weapons.

And then, Trump changed his mind all over again. On April 16, he made a U-turn by deciding not to impose additional sanctions on Russia, and later accused U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley of “momentary confusion.”

Watch: Trump’s reversal of Russian sanctions

The Trump administration also indicated that it would be willing to negotiate with one of the oligarchs, Oleg Deripaska, over the sanctions.

Bottom line

Sanctions can be a powerful tool: They send a bold message that the U.S. is willing to protect its interests.

Trump’s sanctions that target Russian oligarchs could be a significant move. The Russian sanctions in 2018 target specific individuals with ties to the Kremlin. This is also the first time that the sanctions target private companies that don’t have direct links to the Crimea annexation or U.S. election interference.

Trump indicates that he is willing to renegotiate sanctions with one of the targeted Russian oligarchs.

If he truly puts Americans first, it is up to Trump to follow through with American law instead of cozying up to Putin.