Iranians shop in Tehran's ancient Grand Bazaar

Politics

L’Europe doit s’opposer aux sanctions extraterritoriales imposées par l’Amérique

May 17, 2018 Jeffrey D. Sachs

NEW YORK – La paix mondiale est aujourd’hui menacée par la renonciation de Donald Trump au Plan global d’action conjoint (JCPOA) auprès de l’Iran, et par la réimposition de sanctions américaines contre Téhéran. La sécurité de l’Europe repose désormais sur la défense de l’accord, en dépit du retrait des États-Unis. Cela suppose que l’Europe, ainsi que la Russie, la Chine et d’autres États membres des Nations Unies veillent au possible développement des relations économiques avec l’Iran. Or, ceci ne pourra se produire que si l’Europe s’oppose, et en fin de compte renverse, les sanctions extraterritoriales américaines qui visent à dissuader les activités commerciales et financières d’acteurs non américains avec l’Iran.

La démarche de Trump vise un objectif clair et explicite : renverser le régime iranien. Face à cette folie, les citoyens européens réalisent pertinemment que les intérêts de sécurité de l’Europe ne sont plus si étroitement en phase avec ceux des États-Unis.

L’approche américaine d’intimidation de l’Iran est secondée – et en réalité promue – par deux pays alliés des États-Unis au Moyen-Orient : Israël et l’Arabie saoudite. Israël fait appel à la puissance américaine pour éviter d’avoir à convenir du moindre compromis avec les Palestiniens. Quant à l’Arabie saoudite, elle entend profiter de la puissance militaire des États-Unis pour contenir son rival dans la région, l’Iran. Tous deux espèrent une guerre directe entre l’Amérique et l’Iran.

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Jeffrey D. Sachs

Writing for PS since 1995
354 Commentaries

Jeffrey D. Sachs, University Professor at Columbia University, is Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University and President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. He has served as adviser to three UN Secretaries-General, and currently serves as an SDG Advocate under Secretary-General António Guterres. His books include The End of Poverty, Common Wealth, The Age of Sustainable Development, Building the New American Economy, A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism, and, most recently, The Ages of Globalization.

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0 Comments on this paragraph, 17 Comments on this article

Gerald Yu Jun 2, 2018

Prof. Sachs is absolutely right.

We are taught by the media that sanctions are only a slap on the wrist. But in fact, they are warring behavior, and often create extreme hardship, including famine at the target countries, promoting hurt and hatred in future GENERATIONS.

It would be very very difficult for EU and China to stand up to the US, when the US wields the powerful weapon called the US Dollar. When the US bans someone from settling their transactions in New York, that party is effectively thrown into the stone age with total loss of their finance. The World is controlled by the US. It can do whatever it wants. And it's got a Moron in the Whitehouse.
- Gerald Yu Jun 3, 2018
  
  When their children grow up shorter, in ill health, and poorly educated, do they still think your sanctions are for their own good? Or do they hate you forever?
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Chris Manjaro May 21, 2018

I cannot disagree with any of the points made by Mr.Sachs.

However, Iran is a bad actor and must be contained. Their goal is to create a military presence in Syria, including air power, in order to attack Israel.

Trump should have united with Europe to apply a new sanctions regime based on Iran's designs in Syria.
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Y. K. May 20, 2018

The reason for the mayhem in Syria in not "failed regime change", but that Iranian interference hardened Assad's regime, leading to a genocide of Syrians, leading to an exodus, leading to Brexit and weakened EU. A lot of that interference was made possible by the process of negotiating the Iran Deal, which required not antagonizing the Mullahs by preventing Iran from enabling Assad's repression.

Sachs now wants the EU to kowtow to Russia, Iran and Assad over its own historical partner because of.. well, I don't actually see any argument here. Extraterritorial sanctions are the main key in economic power projection. Weakening these would weaken the EU's main lever in international affairs.
- Gerald Yu Jun 2, 2018
  
  Ha ha ha, even Brexit is caused by Iran? You've got some imagination. While you're at it, be sure to mention the 1953 Iranian coup d'état where the CIA toppled the democratically elected prime minister of Iran. That probably started it all. When the US toppled a Democracy, bad things follow.
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j. von Hettlingen May 20, 2018

Jeffrey D. Sachs is urging European leaders to reject Trump’s uniteral imposition of extraterritorial sanctions against Iran, because they violate international law (including the Resolution 2231 and therefore the UN Charter) and the rules of the World Trade Organisation. Europe must get its act together, upholding the multilateral agreement that Iran signed with world powers, and defending its own economic sovereignty.
The relentless efforts made by Theresa May, Anegela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron were in vain – they were deeply humiliated by Trump’s reckless move, which, the author says, “reflects two converging forces: a deep-seated foreign-policy tendency – manifested by all recent US administrations – to seek hegemony in the Middle East, and Trump’s peculiar brand of psychopathy. Trump delights in embarrassing European leaders; their squirming is his triumph.”
European allies describe the US extraterritorial sanctions as unacceptable, saying their business should not be required to pay for Trump’s foreign policy decisions – to bring about regime change in Iran. Sadly, his “bullying approach to Iran” has the support of Israel and Saudi Arabia. Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to distract the public from his failure to negotiate with the Paliestians. The Saudis hope to see in Trump a hope for containing their arch enemy in Tehran.
Since hawks like John Bolton and Mike Pompeo have Trump’s ear, both Israel and Saudi Arabia would want to see “a direct US war with Iran.” The two advisers had in the past proposed stringent sanctions that will take a toll on ordinary Iranians, triggering popular unrest and a possible implosion. A joint military action launched by Israel and the US to overthrow the regime in Tehran is also on the table.
The author says, European leaders “are not powerless. The nuclear with Iran “can still be salvaged, precisely because it is a multilateral agreement, endorsed by the UN Security Council (Resolution 2231), not an agreement solely between the US and Iran.” He points out that under Article 25 of the UN Charter, all UN member states, including the US, “are obligated to fulfil” the the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran. Trump’s withdrawal “is itself a violation of international law.”
European leaders are currently considering countermeasures to nullify the US effect of imposing sanctions on any non-US entity that continues to do business with Iran, posing a threat to the billions of euros of European business. The author says Trump’s plan to bully Euroeans into “joining US foreign policy on Iran may lead to a severe backlash by EU firms and politicians.” China and Russia could benefit from “a stronger independent European foreign policy,” driving a wedge between Europe and the US.
Even if the US withdraws from the current global order, it would pay a price for its isolationist foreign policy. In our world of interdepence no country can afford an isolation, because one country alone can not tackle the many challenges the international community is facing. The author says, Europe’s “biggest challenge is not legal or even geopolitical. It is psychological. European leaders act as if the US still cares about a trans-Atlantic alliance of shared interests, values, and approaches. Sadly, this is no longer the case,” because America has turned inward.
It’s time to wake up. Europe “needs its own security policy, just as it needs its own trade and environmental policies.” Trump has created the biggest rift between the US and mainland Europe since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which might still be felt long after he left office.
- Barry Rosenfeld May 21, 2018
  
  It’s time to wake up. Europe “needs its own security policy, just as it needs its own trade and environmental policies.” Great idea. Now get the Germans to participate by raising its defense spending to 2% of GDP. Just don't hold your breath.
  - Gerald Yu Jun 2, 2018
    
    The Germans are not spending too little on war. It is the US that is spending too much on waging war. US politicians, weapons industry form a vicious circle of war spending and election contributions. Don't get brain washed by them.
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William Eckman May 19, 2018

Jeffery - With all due respect, I believe you are wrong. The US has always made mistakes but our batting average is pretty good, however, historically our worst mistake has been "Not Leading"... Exactly what we got between 2008 - 2016! Yes, other examples too. Overall, Europe is our friend but even friends need a kick in the butt occasionally (goes both ways). If Europe needs to push back, I believe they should. My guess is it would lead to compromise... if not on Iran then in the future on other agenda items. Pushing back would also stimulate discussion inside Europe and that is certainly needed.
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Bernhard Kopp May 18, 2018

The EU-trade with Iran is some € 20 billion, the EU-trade with the US is some € 600 billion. Furthermore, almost all major European industrial and financial firms have substantial US operations, including government business in the US. Hence, the French Total, and the German Siemens and Allianz, have already announced that they are, for the time being, winding down in Iran. They have no choice. Sanctions could hit in 2019, political and legal disputes, UN and WTO, may take years to resolve. The firms could not possibly suffer losses in the US amounting to billions and beginning next year. The US-Administration obviously knows all that. In the near term it is easy for them to play hardball. For Europe, there is no other way than diplomacy and legal proceedings, and grinding our teeth.
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Varun Rao May 18, 2018

Great point - this idea the US must control the Middle East is out of date and highly imperialistic, and very significant to the ongoing instability in the region. While the US policy towards Israel-Palestine continues to stir up anti-US sentiment in the region, the US still feels as if it has some sort of responsibility or is deserving of total control over governments in the region; when a country departs from such a path, they are suppressed - see Mosaddegh.
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Petey Bee May 18, 2018

Unfortunately, little criticism of US foreign policy can be made, due to the impossibility of avoiding the obligation to be polite about the interests of Saudi Arabia and Israel.
These are untouchable in US discourse.

(For example, note the complete indifference throughout western media towards the events of may 14th in Gaza. And the desert kingdom routinely gets a pass on the most ridiculous violations of literally every single western norm of decency that we expect of governments.)

I think it is also important to point out that policy advocates in favor of blunt anti-Iran strategy span the entire political spectrum. It is not just the Trump administration, though due to its limited support elsewhere, it relies especially heavily on anti-Iran nations in the middle east and neo-conservative hawks at home.

Probably, as long as European energy security is maintained (and concessions to that are surely on offer by the anti-Iran parties), sanctions on Iran can be overlooked. With skillfull demagoguery, anti-immigrant sentiment could be steered to generate support for anti-Iran policy.
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Prashant Kotak May 17, 2018

But I didn't know America is imposing any sanctions on Mars anyway, although I can understand why the EU would get upset; Mars seems to be the primary source of their policy ideas.
Eh what?
I'm sorry, I could have sworn that read "Extraterrestrial" until you just corrected it.
- Paul Ross May 17, 2018
  
  I don't think there is any real disagreement about the necessity to impose sanctions and trade restrictions on those duplicitous Martians. :)
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Nikolas P May 17, 2018

I do not think that the fear is only psychological. The U.S has significant power of coercion and influence in Europe, military, political and economic, and any resistance could have significant repercussions; reluctantly, they will go along with Trump.
- Varun Rao May 18, 2018
  
  Good point. I think this notion that the US has coercive power and influence that dictates the actions of other countries extends not only to Europe but can be seen within the United Nations - could it not be possible that an alliance of Europe with China, India, Australia, etc. - could supersede this overarching power that the US has over the international system?
  - Nikolas P May 18, 2018
    
    It is very unlikely that Europe is willing or able to do that. In the west the interests of the Nation-State are junior to the interests of Capital. And the western capital is significantly interlocked and primarily protected by the might of the American military. There is a reason why Trump acts so arrogantly. He has leverage.
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