Follow us on social

2010-09-14t120000z_237546757_gm1e69e1oml01_rtrmadp_3_afghanistan-bank-e1644856421174

New sanctions relief for Afghanistan is a 'game changer'

The US Treasury waiver will allow commercial transactions and cross-border trade previously prohibited under anti-Taliban sanctions.

Analysis | Asia-Pacific

Today the U.S. Treasury Department announced a general license (read: sanctions exemption) that permits the payment of taxes, fees, import duties, or the purchase or receipt of permits, licenses, or public utility services for all transactions–even commercial ones–so long as they aren’t for luxury goods or services that do not support basic needs.

Ok, why is this a big deal?

In practical terms, General License No. 20 opens up commercial transactions and cross-border trade in Afghanistan by allowing for the kinds of incidental payments listed above that are necessary to conduct business. This allows for commercial transactions related to imports from and exports to Afghanistan, including financial transfers to governing institutions such as Da Afghanistan Bank (central bank of Afghanistan). 

Previously these types of payments were only permitted for non-commercial humanitarian activities. For example, General License No. 19 permits certain transactions and activities involving the Taliban so long as they are “ordinarily incident and necessary” to carry out specified humanitarian and development projects which includes the “payment of taxes, fees, or import duties, or the purchase or receipt of permits, licenses, or public utility services.” This implied that similar payments related to commercial activities were still subject to sanctions. This severely reduced critical cross-border trade between landlocked Afghanistan and its neighbors.

Is this going to attract big international banks or projects to Afghanistan anytime soon? Probably not. Afghanistan isn’t that lucrative for them to begin with and now that they’re left with Afghanistan’s real economy, it just doesn’t make sense from a business perspective. But this will be a game changer for regional traders and Afghanistan’s domestic commercial sector. The Biden administration has clearly recognized that Afghanistan cannot stay afloat through aid alone.

U.S. sanctions that were intended to limit the Taliban and Haqqani Network as non-state actors have now extended far beyond this limited scope to effectively sanction the de facto Afghan government. Today’s general license will reduce some of this harm but more still needs to be done to inject liquidity into Afghanistan’s economy and assuage the chilling effect of sanctions that no longer serve a purpose.

Afghan people walk past a Kabulbank branch in Kabul September 14, 2010. Afghanistan's central bank has stepped in to take control of the troubled Kabulbank, its governor said on Tuesday, after suspected irregularities raised concerns over the country's top private financial institution. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj (AFGHANISTAN - Tags: BUSINESS)
Analysis | Asia-Pacific
Diplomacy Watch: Russia retaliates after long-range missile attacks
Diplomacy Watch: Ukraine uses long-range missiles, Russia responds

Diplomacy Watch: Russia retaliates after long-range missile attacks

QiOSK

As the Ukraine War passed its 1,000-day mark this week, the departing Biden administration made a significant policy shift by lifting restrictions on key weapons systems for the Ukrainians — drawing a wave of fury, warnings and a retaliatory ballistic missile strike from Moscow.

On Thursday, Russia launched what the Ukrainian air force thought to be a non-nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) attack on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, which if true, would be the first time such weapons were used and mark a major escalatory point in the war.

keep readingShow less
Netanyahu Gallant
Top image credit: FILE PHOTO: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense minister Yoav Gallant during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023. ABIR SULTAN POOL/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant

QiOSK

On Thursday the International Court of Justice (ICC) issued warrants for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as a member of Hamas leadership.

The warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant were for charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes. The court unanimously agreed that the prime minister and former defense minister “each bear criminal responsibility for the following crimes as co-perpetrators for committing the acts jointly with others: the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.”

keep readingShow less
Ukraine landmines
Top image credit: A sapper of the 24th mechanized brigade named after King Danylo installs an anti-tank landmine, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, on the outskirts of the town of Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region, Ukraine October 30, 2024. Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERS

Ukrainian civilians will pay for Biden's landmine flip-flop

QiOSK

The Biden administration announced today that it will provide Ukraine with antipersonnel landmines for use inside the country, a reversal of its own efforts to revive President Obama’s ban on America’s use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of the indiscriminate weapons anywhere except the Korean peninsula.

The intent of this reversal, one U.S. official told the Washington Post, is to “contribute to a more effective defense.” The landmines — use of which is banned in 160 countries by an international treaty — are expected to be deployed primarily in the country’s eastern territories, where Ukrainian forces are struggling to defend against steady advances by the Russian military.

keep readingShow less

Election 2024

Latest

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.