Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday that the US will unveil “strong new sanctions” as early as next week, with targets including parties in countries that support Russia’s military.
“We will unveil strong new sanctions targeting those facilitating the Kremlin’s war machine, including intermediaries in third countries that are supplying Russia with critical inputs for its military,” she stated during the news conference’s opening remarks.
Her remarks come as world financial officials convene in Washington this week for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
They also come more than 2.5 years after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, sparking a slew of US actions aimed against Russia’s income and industrial complex.
On Tuesday, Yellen also appeared to criticize former President Donald Trump’s economic policies, stating that the United States has “rejected isolationism that made America and the world worse off.”
The world’s largest economy is two weeks away from its presidential election, in which Republican nominee Donald Trump faces Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
Yellen emphasized that the current Democratic administration in Washington has “pursued global economic leadership that supports economies around the world and brings significant benefits to the American people and the US economy.”
Polls show that the economy is a significant issue for US voters.
Households have been feeling the strain from increasing living costs since the outbreak, even as inflation has dropped from high levels recorded in 2022 and the central bank has begun to decrease interest rates — with borrowing costs expected to fall in response.
The contest between Harris and Trump is neck-and-neck, with some polls indicating that Americans prefer the former president on economic matters.
Meanwhile, as the IMF and World Bank meetings take place, Yellen encouraged countries to do more to help debt-burdened states.
She stated that US President Joe Biden’s administration will continue to advocate for reforms to a framework to assist countries in debt crisis.