Economic Sanctions: Treasury and State Have Received Increased Resources for Sanctions Implementation but Face Hiring Challenges

Why GAO Did This Study. The United States has implemented dozens of sanctions programs to counteract activities that threaten U.S. national interests. Sanctions may place restrictions on entire countries, sectors of countries economies, or specific corporations or individuals. Examples of restrictions include limiting access to the U.S. financial system, freezing assets under U.S. jurisdiction, and restricting trade. The United States has implemented an increasing number of sanctions in recent years, including sanctions on countries that conduct a significant amount of international trade, such as Russia, Venezuela, and Iran. GAO was asked to examine the resources U.S. agencies have devoted to sanctions implementation. This report examines 1 agencies roles in sanctions implementation, 2 resources available to agency units that focus primarily on sanctions implementation, 3 the extent to which agency units that focus primarily on sanctions implementation have assessed their resource needs, and 4 agencies reporting to Congress on sanctions implementation expenses and activities. GAO gathered data from 13 agencies and their sub-units to identify their roles and the personnel they used for sanctions implementation. GAO also reviewed agency reporting, planning, and budget documents and interviewed agency officials. What GAO Recommends. GAO recommends that State include additional information about the expenditures it considers in its reporting for the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction sanctions program. State concurred with the recommendation.