Uncertainty Over Recent North Korean Sanctions as Administration Reportedly Backtracks

It is unclear if Treasury's most recent North Korean sanctions will be enforced after reports surfaced on March 26 detailing opposing positions among the president, the White House administration and the Treasury Department.

On March 22, President Donald Trump announced on Twitter that he was canceling certain North Korean sanctions (see 1903220067). “It was announced today by the U.S. Treasury that additional large scale Sanctions would be added to those already existing Sanctions on North Korea,” Trump tweeted. “I have today ordered the withdrawal of those additional Sanctions!” Trump's tweet was intended to reverse the previous day's designations of two Chinese shipping companies, according to a Bloomberg report, which were announced on March 21 and sanctioned Dalian Haibo International Freight Company and Liaoning Danxing International Forwarding Company.

However, previous reports cited administration officials as saying Trump's tweet referred to sanctions that had not yet been announced. After Trump’s tweet, and as confusion arose surrounding which sanctions Trump was referring to, administration officials persuaded the president to back down from his announcement, Bloomberg reported. They also “devised a misleading explanation of his vague tweet announcing the move,” Bloomberg said, telling media outlets that Trump was referring to scheduled sanctions against North Korea that had not yet been announced. But no immediate additional sanctions on the country were planned, Bloomberg reported, citing “two people familiar with the matter.”

As of press time, the White House and the Treasury Department did not respond to requests for comment. When asked to explain Trump's tweet, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders Huckabee said on March 22 that “President Trump likes Chairman Kim and he doesn’t think these sanctions will be necessary.” As of press time, the sanctions have not been removed from the Treasury’s website.

OFAC announced sanctions against the two Chinese shipping companies in a March 21 press release, saying the companies “helped North Korea evade sanctions” by circumventing “international and U.S. sanctions.” Treasury also released a 19-page guide on “addressing North Korea’s illicit shipping practices.” The guide includes risk mitigation measures and a summary of penalties for violators (see 1903210052).