House to Pass Bipartisan Sanctions Bill Against Turkey This Week, Pelosi Says

The House plans to pass a “strong, bipartisan” sanctions package this week in response to the Trump administration's decision to lift sanctions on Turkey in exchange for a ceasefire in Syria, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. Pelosi’s comments came after the Trump administration announced last week it would be suspending further sanctions on Turkey and plans to lift recently announced sanctions in exchange for the ceasefire.

Trump gave the Treasury Department the authority to impose sanctions on Turkey’s government in an Oct. 14 executive order (see 1910110057), which was followed by sanctions from the Office of Foreign Assets Control on Oct. 15 (see 1910150043). The sanctions targeted Turkey’s defense ministry, energy ministry, defense minister, energy minister and interior minister.

But the U.S. plans to withdraw the sanctions if Turkey follows through on the ceasefire agreement and allows Kurdish-led forces to withdraw from the area, and the White House said both sides are “committed” to the agreement. Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer questioned Turkey’s commitment to a ceasefire, saying the country “made clear that they ‘will pause the operation for 120 hours’” to allow Kurdish forces to leave.

“President Trump is flailing,” Pelosi and Schumer said in a joint statement. “The President’s decision to reverse sanctions against Turkey for brutally attacking our Kurdish partners in exchange for a sham ceasefire seriously undermines the credibility of America’s foreign policy.”

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., and ranking member Michael McCaul, R-Texas, introduced a bill Oct. 16 to impose sanctions on Turkey. The bill would sanction Turkish government and military officials responsible for the country’s actions on Syria. The bill would also sanction a Turkish bank, block all U.S. defense exports to Turkey and sanction foreign countries or entities supplying defense items to the country. A bipartisan bill expanding sanctions on Turkey was also introduced in the Senate (see 1910170054).