Dick Lugar: “I rise to introduce the Enhancement of Trade, Security, and Human Rights Through Sanctions Reform Act, a bill that will…”

“I rise to introduce the Enhancement of Trade, Security, and Human Rights Through Sanctions Reform Act, a bill that will establish a more deliberative, commonsense approach to U.S. sanctions policy. I'm pleased to be joined by several distinguished colleagues, in introducing this important piece of legislation. In recent years, there has been a proliferation in the use of unilateral economic sanctions as a tool of American foreign policy. While unilateral sanctions may be a low cost alternative to the deployment of American Armed Forces abroad--or to milder, less coercive choices--they almost never succeed in achieving their foreign policy objectives. They frequently impose a greater burden on American companies, producers, farmers, and workers than on the intended target country. A cardinal test of foreign policy is that when we act internationally, our actions should do less harm to ourselves than to others. Unilateral economic sanctions, unfortunately, often fail this crucial test.”