Countable Q & A: Why is the Trump Admin. Not Imposing New Sanctions on Russia?

Why are we talking about Russian sanctions right now?

The Trump administration had until Monday to take two steps towards sanctioning Russia under a law Congress overwhelmingly passed in July 2016.

• Step 1: Imposing sanctions on anyone doing "significant" business with Russian businesses listed in a document the State Department released in October.

• Step 2: Publishing a list of Russian "political figures and oligarchs" who’ve benefited under President Vladimir Putin.

And? Steps taken?

Late Monday, the administration released a list of 114 Russian politicians and oligarchs who profited during Putin’s reign. It’s informally known as the "Putin list."

However, the administration also announced that it decided not to penalize anyone with new sanctions.

Why does the White House say it’s withholding new sanctions?

The Trump administration says the threat of sanctions has been "serving as a deterrent" so “sanctions on specific entities or individuals will not need to be imposed."

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement:

"We have informed Congress that this legislation and its implementation are deterring Russian defense sales. Since the enactment of the… legislation, we estimate that foreign governments have abandoned planned or announced purchases of several billion dollars in Russian defense acquisitions."

Why is the U.S. targeting Russia for sanctions?

The sanctions are meant to punish Moscow for interfering in the 2016 presidential election and for its actions in Ukraine.

Didn’t we already go through this? In August or October or something?

In early August, President Donald Trump reluctantly signed a bill into law which gave the administration until October 1 to produce a list of possible targets for sanctions. The August bill, which Trump said "included a number of clearly unconstitutional provisions," also targeted North Korea and Iran with penalties.

And Trump met the October 1st deadline?

He did not. The Trump administration missed the October 1 deadline, which resulted in members of Congress pressuring the president to act. On October 27, the State Department published the list of Russian entities targeted for sanctions on its website.

What’s been the reaction to the administration not imposing new sanctions?

In a statement, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he was "fed up waiting for this administration to protect our country and our elections."

"The Trump administration had a decision to make whether they would follow the law and crack down on those responsible for attacking American democracy in 2016. They chose instead to let Russia off the hook yet again."

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) called the refusal to implement sanctions "perplexing" during an interview on CNN’s “New Day.”

"The one thing we know for sure already is the Russians did attempt to meddle in our election. And not only should there be a price to pay in terms of sanctions, but also we need to put safeguards in place right now for the elections for this year."

What do you think?

Should the administration sanction Russia? Or do you agree that the threat of sanctions has been enough of a deterrent? Hit Take Action and tell your reps, then comment below.

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—Josh Herman

Related Reading

• State Department Reveals List of Russia Sanctions Targets

• Russia Responds to Proposed Sanctions: Expels Diplomats, Seizes Property

• Does the U.S. Need to Expand Sanctions on Iran, Russia, and North Korea?

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