President Trump said Friday afternoon that he “ordered the withdrawal” of new sanctions against North Korea, one day after his administration said it would penalize two Chinese shipping firms for violating existing trade prohibitions.
Trump made the announcement on Twitter, saying he was rolling back “additional” sanctions, though it was unclear what new sanctions he was referencing.
“It was announced today by the U.S. Treasury that additional large scale Sanctions would be added to those already existing Sanctions on North Korea. I have today ordered the withdrawal of those additional Sanctions!” Trump wrote.
Hours after the tweet, the Washington Examiner learned that the sanctions enforcement action would stay in effect, though it remained unclear what new sanctions Trump had nixed.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement shortly after the tweet: “President Trump likes Chairman Kim and he doesn’t think these sanctions will be necessary.”
On Thursday, the Treasury Department accused a pair of Chinese companies of helping North Korea evade sanctions by shipping coal or performing water-based goods transfers.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a Thursday statement that the action was important to make it “explicitly clear that shipping companies employing deceptive tactics to mask illicit trade with North Korea expose themselves to great risk.” North Korea hawks have long argued that the U.S. government insufficiently enforces sanctions.
North Korea reacted negatively to the enforcement action, withdrawing from a liaison office near the Korean Peninsula’s Demilitarized Zone.
Trump’s tweet comes as he seeks to reach a bilateral trade deal with China in coming weeks, and follows his unsuccessful second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in February, which Trump ended early over questions of sanctions relief sought by Kim in exchange for denuclearization steps.
Update (3/23/19): This article was updated to reflect new information, specifically that the Thursday sanctions enforcement action would remain in effect.
