Like an FTO designation, it’s toothless and won’t have any desired effect. Where the FTO would have ushered in a certain catastrophe, an SDGT carries only a severe risk of catastrophe.
Treasury licenses limit legal exposure for key private sector industries like banks and importers of food and medicine…but those industries have a history of looking superficially at risk. They don’t need yet another reason to stop doing business in Yemen.
The FTO designation in 2021 came with assurances too, and industry’s substantially cut imports to Yemen nonetheless. The Biden admin is playing with Yemenis’ lives, all because it doesn’t want to be seen doing nothing.
@Politic4lSalamiRepublican3mos3MO
Biden’s SDGT ploy allows him plausible deniability concerning inaction while also ensuring that U.S. strength cannot be applied to Houthi forces in any real capacity besides telegraphed and ineffective air strikes against a rebel force that has made a living of dodging similar Saudi strikes for years.
They aren’t doing the full FTO designation.
They are doing the weaker SDGT designation - with a delay.
@MandateKenConstitution3mos3MO
