Europe Under Fire from US Secondary Sanctions

... emerged as a more effective tool than trade embargoes. Possessing greater information about financial flows has made it easier to enforce trade restrictions. Financial sanctions have become akin to high-precision weapons and have increased the scope of secondary sanctions. Now sanctions were able not only to punish the ‘main targets’. The threat of secondary sanctions can make the targeted country – or specific companies, or even individuals – ‘toxic’. A transparent financial system would clearly reveal all transactions ...