State Department Official: No Distinction Between Administration and President on Sanctions and Tariffs

Assistant Secretary of State A. Wess Mitchell has told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that there is no distinction between the administration and the president when it comes to U.S. sanctions policy against Russia or on trade tariffs on the European Union. Wess told the committee that sanctions will remain in place and will be expanded if Russian behavior doesn't change. On the issue of trade tariffs on Europe, the assistant secretary declined to elaborate on inter-agency discussions, saying only that the department played a role in the process and that he supported the president's policy. close