Economic Sanctions under International Law: Trade Continuity with Special Purpose Vehicles

The effects of US secondary sanctions are broad and are often designed to cripple the target country’s economy and currency. Some states have sought to circumvent these sanctions by setting up a special purpose vehicle to facilitate trade and financial transactions with the sanctioned country on humanitarian grounds. Although the nature of these special purpose vehicles is new and experimental, they are little understood, not least how they operate and function in international law. This vo...