Former economic officials and ambassadors of the United States – speaking to Al -Jazeera Net – underestimated the economic impact of new US sanctions, which came into effect on Friday, against Sudan based on its accusation of using chemical weapons.
Ambassador Muawiyah Othman Khaled, the former Chargé d’Affaires of the Sudan Embassy in Washington, told Al -Jazeera Net, that entering Penalties The new American, its current impact will be limited to the Sudanese economy, due to the lack of economic and trade exchange between the two countries for decades.
Ambassador Abdel -Mahmoud Abdel -Halim, the former representative of Sudan to the United Nations in New York, stated in his interview with Al -Jazeera Net that although sanctions target American exports, financial funds, weapons and technology, which are mainly weak or not present in bilateral exchanges, they should not be underestimated, given the interdependence of the economies of other countries with the American economy.
In the same context, Adel Abdel Aziz Al -Faki, Director of the Information Center at the former Sudanese Ministry of Finance, explained in his interview with Al -Jazeera Net that the announcement of new penalties is not based on any information or logic that is likely to cut off the new path of dealing, which was expected to start after the appointment of Kamel Idris as prime minister.
Stop the aid provided to Sudan
The United States announced the start of the validity of the sanctions on the use of chemical weapons on Sudan, starting on Friday, and the sanctions include aid provided under the Foreign Aid Act, weapons sales financing, and government financing, in addition to goods and technology exports.
The sanctions also included the refusal to grant Sudan any credit, credit guarantees, or any other financial assistance from any administration, agency or agency affiliated with the American government, including the US export and import bank.
The economist and official of the Food Security Department at the Sudanese Ministry of Agriculture, Eng. Ammar Bashir, underestimated the impact of these sanctions on the Sudanese economy, saying that Sudan has become more aware and experienced in dealing with the mechanisms taken by the United States against it, and that it gained accumulated experiences in this context.
He added – in a special statement to Al -Jazeera Net – that the long sanctions periods were one of the most economic prosperity periods in the country, as the sanctions prompted Sudan to open new horizons alternative to relations with Washington and Western society in general.
Economists believe that there is no economic cooperation or an influential trade exchange between Sudan and the United States, including gum exports that do not exceed 200 million dollars annually, especially after Washington expanded to use industrial alternatives to it.
The US State Department spokeswoman, Tami Bruce, accused the Sudanese army of using chemical weapons last year during its struggle with the Rapid Support Forces, which was rejected by the Sudanese government, and considered it a counterfeit of facts and false allegations.
Return of restrictions on economic dealings
Ambassador Muawiyah told Al -Jazeera Net that the entry of new US sanctions on Sudan into effect restores legal restrictions on economic and commercial dealings, albeit in a limited scope, pointing out that the American administration has allowed some exceptions that are considered to be considered for each case separately.
He pointed out that if an American company applies to the Foreign Assets Control Office at the Treasury Ministry (OFAC) to obtain permission to export a commodity or implement commercial transactions with Sudan, it is possible to allow it if the administration sees that this is an interest in the United States.
Ambassador Muawiya confirmed that transactions Economic and commercial exchange Between the two countries, it was not actually resumed for decades, even after the lifting of economic sanctions in 2017, as lifting sanctions at the time only means removing legal barriers that prevent American companies, institutions and individuals from dealing with Sudan without being subjected to sanctions, and this is what happened at the time.
However, the main problem remained in the absence of companies and individuals ’desire to enter into commercial dealings with Sudan, given that they considered Sudan a high -risk country, and they were not able to invest in it or deal with it except in very limited individual ranges, which do not have an impact on the total performance of the Sudanese economy.
The former Chargé d’Affairs of the Sudan Embassy in Washington indicated that Sudan needs simultaneous political and economic efforts to expand the circle of exceptions, up to a new stage in which the total lifting of these restrictions is made, which is possible, according to his opinion.
A new path for economic relations
Adel Abdel Aziz explained that the comprehensive sanctions imposed by the American administration on Sudan were partially lifted in 2017, and then on May 20, 2021.
However, after the change in the composition of the referee as a result of correcting the path made by the team Abdel -Fattah Al -Burhan In October 2021, the US State Department announced the suspension of aid to Sudan, which included emergency allocations of $ 700 million.
International financial institutions have been followed, such as International Monetary Fund AndWorld BankAnd Western countries, the United States, and announced that they would not grant loans or grants to Sudan unless there is a civilian government that leads the country.
Because of this intervention in internal affairs, the course of the external exemption of Sudan’s debts was stopped under the “Hebeek” initiative, which is the initiative devoted to the less developed and high -debt countries, although Sudan was fulfilled by all the terms of exemption. It also stopped international loans and aid that the International Finance Corporation was coordinating.
Abdel Aziz said that the appointment of Kamel Idris as prime minister, and his continued nomination of civilian ministers from technocrats, was supposed to restore the momentum to the path of economic cooperation, but the announcement of new sanctions is a definitely one of this path.
He pointed out that this new development requires a strong national will to plan an alternative path to external economic relations, focusing on cooperation with the countries of the East and the countries friendly to Sudan.
Moral or economic burden?
Ambassador Abdel -Mahmoud called for not to underestimate the US sanctions, stressing that it represents a moral and human burden at a time when Sudan faces great challenges in terms of reconstruction and reconstruction after the war.
He said that the Sudanese army accusing the use of chemical weapons at this time, and the context in which the sanctions were announced, is nothing more than a form of political extortion and falsification of facts, and the previous penalties imposed in 1997 are returned to mind and were only raised more than 20 years.
Limited effect and alternative mechanisms
The head of one of the major commercial groups in Sudan, who is interested in developing trade relations with the United States, told Al -Jazeera Net that he does not believe that the sanctions imposed on their current form and their narrow scope have a major or direct impact on the Sudanese economy, because it does not include a vital sector with an actual association with the American market.
The head of the group – who preferred not to be named – added that these sanctions, despite their limitations, constitute a worrying indication, because they represent the first sanctions imposed after the war on Sudan as a state, and not on individuals, and therefore the expansion of this trend may have a significant impact in the future.
At the same time, it was not excluded that the sanctions have an indirect impact, such as what some parties or banks in Europe might do from the position of Sudan on the monitoring lists or stopping its dealings with it, due to the classification of Sudan, a country subject to US sanctions.