Volume 3, Number 1 - International Development - Special Edition 1999

Title: A Blueprint for U.S. Sanctions Policy Reform

Author: The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

Abstract: This article provides a critical assessment of current United States sanctions policy. Examples of the use of sanctions as foreign policy are described and the issues central to the current debate are examined. The economic costs as well as the diplomatic costs of U.S. sanctions policy are also considered. The author concludes that U.S. sanctions policy must provide the President with flexibility to modify or waive sanctions to meet changing circumstances. The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 contains a number of provisions that provide for increased presidential flexibility. Policy makers should continue to work to ensure that U.S. sanctions policy promotes foreign policy objectives with minimal damage to national economic interests.

About the Author: The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr. has served in the United States Senate since 1973. He is the senior Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee and was Co-Chairman of the Senate Task Force on Economic Sanctions. He is widely recognized as one of the SenateÕs leading foreign policy experts, and has published numerous editorials and articles, nationally and internationally, on international relations.

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