Why Trump dislikes sanctions against Russia and whether he will lift them
On 5 September, as the Kremlin's leader attempted to show a sense of humor by expressing support for US presidential candidate Kamala Harris, Donald Trump made a statement that did not receive much attention in the media.
Harris's campaign released a video of her Republican rival's speech with the caption: "Trump suggests he will lift US sanctions on Russia and Iran if he wins." The video has garnered over two million views and caught the attention of Russian propaganda.
What exactly did Donald Trump say, how does he view sanctions and will he lift them? Read more in the article by Oleh Pavliuk, a European Pravda journalist – Trump to lift sanctions? Is the US presidential candidate really planning to loosen restrictions on Russia?
Trump decided to address the issue of sanctions on 5 September at the Economic Club of New York, an NGO that has been studying US economic policy for over a century.
Trump expressed doubts about the effectiveness of sanctions for one specific reason: they undermine the status of the dollar as the global currency. The former president cited Iran, Russia and China as examples of sanctions that, in his opinion, have not worked.
Moreover, he believes that greater influence can be achieved not through sanctions but through tariffs, although he emphasised that he used them to prevent conflicts and wars.
But did Trump really talk about lifting sanctions on Russia, as Harris's team claimed?
One would need to be very creative in interpreting his words to draw such a conclusion. At the very least, Trump mentioned "lifting" sanctions just once – in a hypothetical situation where he would impose "strong" restrictive measures first.
Nevertheless, Harris's national security spokesperson, Morgan Finkelstein, commenting on Trump’s statement at the Economic Club of New York, claimed that Trump intends to "unilaterally lift sanctions on Iran and Russia."
"This is the exact kind of reckless foreign policy we've come to expect from Donald Trump, who would make America weak and the world less safe. If Trump returns to office, he will undermine our security, turn his back on our allies and have America go it alone, strengthen our adversaries, and disrespect the title of commander-in-chief," Finkelstein said.
Although there is no evidence that Trump lifted sanctions against Russia or Iran in his first term, it is clear that he dislikes sanctions as he doesn't find them effective.
He would prefer to deal with rivals through trade and tariffs (which one member of the Economic Club directly called "the other side of sanctions").
This is precisely why Trump’s statement about "lifting sanctions" didn't get widespread attention in the American media. In reality, he didn't say anything particularly new.
Even if we assume that Trump indeed wants to lift sanctions in some way, he would be largely constrained by Congress, where, at least for now, the majority of lawmakers in both chambers support further strengthening of restrictions on Russia.
Furthermore, returning to Trump’s speech at the Economic Club of New York, where he mentioned his "plan" to end the war in Ukraine, he didn't provide any details of his "plan." He just mentioned it in the context of his "dislike" for sanctions: "The sad part about Russia is that Ukraine [the war in Ukraine] would have never happened if I was president. So we wouldn't have to talk about sanctions."
This may indicate that Trump is willing to use sanctions as a tool in negotiations with Russia, although it's unclear how. Even in the event of a theoretical victory, he wouldn’t immediately have the authority to lift sanctions on Russia.
Moreover, the sanctions "infrastructure" opposing Russia involves not only the US but also its European allies. A decision by Trump alone wouldn't dismantle it overnight.