In the wee hours of November 9, 2016, Donald Trump became the US
president-elect. Thus, next January 20 Mr. Trump will become the
45th US President, cloaked with full executive power to impose,
waive, or terminate US sanctions under existing authorities from
Congress.
Sanctions are tools to achieve national security and foreign
policy goals, which, by and large, are determined by the president.
The sitting president. If a new president wishes to pursue
different national security and foreign policy goals, or to take
different approaches to achieve them, he or she is largely free to
do so.
Thus, next January 20 President Trump will have the ability to
substantially change the US sanctions landscape, most notably
vis-a-vis Iran. Given the absence of a foreign policy track record,
it is difficult to predict the extent to which a President Trump
might deviate from the course taken by President Obama. It is
notable, however, that during his long run for the presidency
