[laurent92]

Doesn’t the ITO (International Trade Organization) regulate international contacts with allowed and non allowed sanctions? I think Western states are currently tied to it, they can’t just impose “whatever” sanctions, and if we don’t, it would be legal for Russia to impose sanctions upon us.

Currently Russia has no right to sanction us, so anything they do is a further breach of ITO, which further deepens their case.

Diplomacy is important. The good guy has to respect the rules, or at least write them so we pretend that there are rules we adhere to.

[OrvalWintermute]

I'm concerned about the use of sanctions, and the individual targeting of wealthy individuals as being anathema to the Rule of Law, property rights, and free exchange.

The dollar is inflating at the same time the reserve currency status is threatened, and we Americans, via our allies, are appropriating the stuff of foreigners, seizing boats, currency, gold, and property. I think >400B has been seized at this point.

How long until we move from "Russia Bad!" to other groups, and start turning inward onto ourselves, seizing their property because they are politically unpopular?

[tazjin]

Russia is also consistently referring to the asset freeze as the Western countries defaulting on their obligations, which will resonate with countries that are not in the closest circle of the US.

[AwaAwa]

Civil forfeiture on an international scale.

[tazjin]

> they can’t just impose “whatever” sanctions

They can and they do. Enforcing any kind of international agreements in this situation is pure fiction.

> The good guy has to respect the rules

The existence of a bad guy doesn't imply the existence of a good guy.

[JumpCrisscross]

> Doesn’t the ITO (International Trade Organization) regulate international contacts

Venue depends on the contract. ITO only has jurisdiction where countries have submitted to it.