Statement by Ambassador Pierce on the inaugural UK-US strategic sanctions dialogue

Written statement by British Ambassador to the USA Karen Pierce on the inaugural UK-US strategic sanctions dialogue, which took place on 19 July.

The United Kingdom and United States have reaffirmed that sanctions are a key tool of foreign policy, following the inaugural UK-U.S. Strategic Sanctions Dialogue hosted by the United States Department of State in Washington, D.C. on 19 July.

Building on the unique economic and security partnership between our two nations, the Dialogue delivered on the 2023 Atlantic Declaration commitment to strengthen our cooperation on sanctions strategy, design, targeting, implementation, mitigations, and enforcement, bringing together UK and U.S. departments and agencies to discuss priorities across geographic and thematic sanctions regimes. It also built on the OFSI-OFAC Enhanced Partnership, with renewed focus from both sides to explore opportunities to align the way we implement sanctions.

The delegations discussed the use of targeted sanctions to deter and disrupt malign activity and to demonstrate our readiness to take action to defend international norms.

In response to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, together with our allies and partners we have imposed unprecedented costs on the Kremlin. The UK has sanctioned over 1,600 individuals and entities since the start of the invasion, including banks with global assets worth £1 trillion ($1.3 trillion) and over £20 billion ($25.9 billion) worth of UK-Russia trade. Sanctions and export controls are starving Russia’s military of key Western components and technology, restricting Putin’s ability to fight a 21st century war.

Beyond efforts against Russia, the UK and U.S. continue to build on our significant cooperation both in the United Nations and bilaterally to coordinate our autonomous regimes. This includes action to tackle human rights violations and abuses, counter terrorism, target cyber-criminal networks, and to address concerning situations in countries such as Sudan, Myanmar and Iran. UK and U.S. teams also focused on collaboration to protect humanitarian activity from unintended impacts of sanctions, building on our significant cooperation on the landmark UN Security Council Resolution 2664 and on follow up across autonomous sanctions regimes. The talks also looked beyond bilateral dimensions and focused on efforts with partners to show collective leadership on the targeted, legitimate, and effective use of sanctions to tackle threats to international peace and security.