Secondary sanctions are a foreign policy tool that has already proven effective in practice. They are imposed on third parties (individuals or companies) that continue to do business with entities already under sanctions. The United States is the most active user of secondary sanctions. Unlike primary sanctions, which directly target specific entities, secondary sanctions aim to prevent circumvention of restrictions through third parties.
The mechanism works by forcing third parties to choose: either do business with sanctioned entities or with the sanctioning country — but not both. Given the size of the American market and the role of the U.S. dollar in global trade, secondary sanctions significantly affect international companies. In this way, countries can exert control not only over actors within their own jurisdiction but also over foreign entities not directly subject to their laws.
It is important to note that secondary sanctions are not applied automatically — each case of violating primary sanctions is reviewed individually, based on the significance of the transactions involved. In the U.S., the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is responsible for this. Nevertheless, such sanctions are not rare — the U.S. regularly imposes restrictions on companies and individuals who help circumvent sanctions or maintain ties with sanctioned entities.
Recently, U.S. President Trump announced plans to impose "secondary tariffs" if Russia does not agree to a ceasefire within 50 days. According to the White House, this would involve 100% tariffs on Russian imports and secondary sanctions on countries that continue purchasing Russian oil. These measures could affect China, India, and Brazil, and have a significant impact on Russia’s economy. At the same time, following Trump’s announcement, the Senate decided to pause Senator Lindsey Graham’s proposed sanctions bill.
It should be noted that there is still no clear understanding of what specific measures are being considered. Secondary sanctions are typically not applied to entire countries, but rather to specific individuals or companies. It is likely that the proposed measures would target selected entities from countries that continue to purchase Russian oil.
Commenting on Trump’s statement, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte noted that Russia’s trading partners are interested in avoiding secondary sanctions. “This is significant. So today, if you are in Beijing, or in Delhi, or you're in Brazil and you know that this is coming to you, you might want to call Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and say, ‘Hey, friend, we are still buying stuff from you, but you have got to get serious when it comes to these negotiations on the ceasefire or a peace deal, or otherwise we get hit by the secondary sanctions,'” he said.
