Finance & economics | Handle with care

Sanctions are now a central tool of governments’ foreign policy

The more they are used, however, the less effective they become

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”

India’s covid catatastrophe

From the April 24th 2021 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

Discover more

Dark rain clouds move over the port of Hamburg, Germany

Germany’s economy goes from bad to worse

Things may look brighter next year, but the relief will be short-lived

An economics Nobel for work on why nations succeed and fail

Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson tackled the most important question of all


Why investors should still avoid Chinese stocks

The debate about “uninvestibility” obscures something important


China’s property crisis claims more victims: companies

Unsold homes are contributing to a balance-sheet recession

Europe’s green trade restrictions are infuriating poor countries

Only the poorest can expect help to cushion the blow

How America learned to love tariffs

Protectionism hasn’t been this respectable for decades