Lawmakers Cry Foul as Biden Mulls Lifting Some Sanctions

It’s the type of drawn-out political fight that could make U.S. sanctions less effective over time if adversaries come to believe that, no matter what they do, Washington will never lift penalties on them. It’s playing out as the United States, determined to limit its military exposure abroad, has grown more reliant on sanctions, including against Russia.

“U.S. politics constrains our ability to provide sanctions relief, even when the executive branch wants it,” said Edward Fishman, a former State Department official who helped craft sanctions strategy for the Obama administration. “The on switch is much easier to press than the off switch.”

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