Sanctions are now a central tool of governments’ foreign policy
The more they are used, however, the less effective they become
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/sites/default/files/images/2021/04/articles/main/20210424_fnd009.jpg)
IN 2016 JACK LEW, America’s then treasury secretary, reflected on how his country had, over decades, “refined our capacity to apply sanctions effectively”. But he also gave a warning: overuse “could undermine our leadership position within the global economy, and the effectiveness of our sanctions themselves”.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Handle with care”
Finance & economics April 24th 2021
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