Trump instructs US Treasury to reassess sanctions policy, cites impact on dollar's global role

US President Donald Trump has directed the Department of the Treasury to reassess the current sanctions policy, arguing that it has undermined the dollar’s position as the world’s reserve currency.

The announcement was made by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

Bessent explained that Trump’s directive comes in response to what he described as a long-standing issue with "lazy sanctions," a policy that he believes has led to a diminishing role for the dollar in global transactions.

"President Trump has instructed me to rethink the sanctions regime. For a long time, we had what I call 'lazy sanctions.' They would just sit there, we think that it threatened the dollar's reserve currency status as people moved out of the dollar," he said. "We are going for the maximum impact sanctions," he added.

“We believe that [these sanctions] undermine the role of the dollar as a reserve currency; people are abandoning the dollar,” Bessent remarked.

The Treasury Secretary pointed to the previous administration’s sanctions, particularly those aimed at Russia, as ineffective. Bessent criticized President Joe Biden’s approach, suggesting that the Biden administration’s reluctance to escalate sanctions was driven by concerns over rising energy prices in the United States. He rated the effectiveness of the Democratic-led sanctions at “6 out of 10.”

In contrast, Bessent said Trump had instructed the Treasury to implement a much stricter sanctions regime. “President Trump has instructed me to tighten sanctions to 10 out of 10 if necessary,” Bessent added, signaling a more aggressive approach to economic penalties moving forward.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the US trade policy is based on sanctions that harm both those who impose them and those whom the target.

The reassessment of US sanctions comes amid increasing global calls for alternatives to the dollar, with some countries exploring options to reduce their reliance on the US currency. The move is expected to reshape the US sanctions strategy, potentially leading to more stringent economic measures in response to international adversaries.

By Vafa Guliyeva