US lifts Eritrea sanctions to advance Red Sea interests — SkimNews
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- The United States lifted sanctions on Eritrea after Trump declined to renew the 2021 measure, with the State Department citing the need to "advance US regional interests" in the Red Sea.
- The Biden administration imposed the November 2021 sanctions targeting Eritrea's military, President Isaias Afwerki's People's Front for Democracy and Justice party, and other state players following atrocities during the Tigray war, which killed at least 600,000 people.
- The US Treasury published a notice on Friday declaring the underlying "national emergency" had "expired," even though the Trump administration had renewed the sanctions last year.
- Eritrea's Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel welcomed the move, telling Reuters the Biden-era sanctions were "not warranted by any metrics" and had caused "incalculable damage" to the country.
- A State Department spokesperson told AFP that implementation of the Tigray peace deal had been "uneven" but it was "time to adapt our foreign policy to current realities and collaboratively engage with both countries."
- Eritrea's Horn of Africa coastline has gained strategic value as the Red Sea becomes a key oil shipping route with the Strait of Hormuz blocked and Houthi advances in Yemen threatening traffic through the Bab al-Mandeb strait.
Why it matters: The US is effectively shelving human-rights-based sanctions — originally imposed after a war that killed 600,000 and left several hundred thousand displaced — to court Eritrea for its Red Sea coastline, where shipping faces threats from Houthi advances and the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked. Eritrea gains relief from sanctions it says caused "incalculable damage," while the US gains potential cooperation with a strategically located Horn of Africa state.
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