Trump plans to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court, announce them soon

US President Donald Trump plans to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC). The US administration is preparing measures against the entire organisation and plans to announce them soon. This move will escalate Washington's campaign against the global tribunal, which prosecutes war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity worldwide.

The administration has openly expressed hostility towards the court and has been trying to undermine it. US officials want the ICC to drop its arrest warrants against Israeli leaders and a past probe into American troops in Afghanistan. In July, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a campaign to isolate the court and urged other countries to withdraw from the tribunal.

MUST READ | 100% tariffs immediately? What Trump’s new Russia sanctions law means for India

Washington has already imposed sanctions on several ICC judges and prosecutors but has so far avoided targeting the court itself, though that option has been under consideration. Sources told news agency Reuters that sanctions against the court had been prepared, but the timing of an announcement remained unclear. The Wall Street Journal also cited officials saying the decision could be finalised as soon as this week during the United Nations General Assembly meeting.

Sanctioning the entire organisation and entities that cooperate with it could severely affect the court's work. Any entity-wide sanctions imposed by the US Treasury would bar US citizens and companies from providing funds, goods, or services to the court without a licence from the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Banks often over-comply with such US sanctions because they depend on access to the American financial system.

DON'T MISS | H-1B visa: Trump admin extends $100,000 employer fee till Sept 2027, tightens job-replacement rules

The ICC's registrar and president have warned that sanctions on the whole organisation could disrupt the purchase of IT services and insurance, the hiring of investigators, and routine financial transactions, including paying dozens of American employees. These measures could affect core day-to-day court operations.

Trump's opposition to the court dates back to his first term and resurfaced with plans to penalise ICC officials after he was re-elected in November 2024 and the court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict. In July, Trump said the US campaign to dismantle the ICC was meant to defend Netanyahu and others from prosecution, not himself.

MUST READ | 'Fake news': Trump bans CNN, Politico, MS NOW from White House; press groups vow legal action

The ICC was established in 2002 by the international community to prosecute war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. It says it can exercise jurisdiction only when a member state is unable or unwilling to prosecute atrocities itself. The United States has never been a member.