January 16, 2024
It’s Not Time to Hit China with Financial Sanctions — Yet
U.S. legislators are debating a range of new economic statecraft authorities aimed at managing the strategic competition with the People’s Republic of China. While Congress must move quickly to implement certain measures, such as those addressing risky U.S. outbound capital flows to the PRC, it would be a mistake to push for a full-scale eviction of Chinese entities from the global financial system.
Reaching for the nuclear option now costs the United States important coercive leverage that it may have a greater need for later.
The United States enjoys a robust set of policy tools for imposing national security-based restrictions on economic activity with China. This includes export controls that halt the flow of sensitive technologies, tariffs, and — in some cases — restrictions on the ability of U.S. persons to engage in financial transactions with Chinese counterparts. Of these, financial restrictions are used at a relatively low level, considering the scale of policy challenges that the United States has with China.
Read the full article from The Hill.
More from CNAS
-
Our Man in Damascus? Sanctions and Governance in Post-Assad Syria
Commentary
The complexity of the legal and policy issues presented by the sanctions thicket surrounding Syria—and the disparate authorities responsible for various parts of it—will requi...
By Alex Zerden
-
Ziemba: Russia & Iran Concentrating on Own Battles
Video
The rebel-led alliance in Syria is set to form a transitional government, after overthrowing President Bashar Al Assad. Reports say the reason the Assad regime fell so quickly...
By Rachel Ziemba
-
Sharper: Tariffs
Commentary
The incoming Trump administration has signaled that tariffs will be a central pillar of its economic strategy, with significant implications for international trade, the Ameri...
By Eleanor Hume, Charles Horn & Gwendolyn Nowaczyk
-
Taking Trump’s Tariffs Threats Seriously
Podcast
Join Emily and Geoff to catch up on a whole bunch of economic security news, including the ill fated Nippon Steel / U.S. Steel deal, new chips export controls, and TikTik’s ba...
By Emily Kilcrease & Geoffrey Gertz
