Financial sanctions have been used by the United States to target enemy countries and foreign criminal enterprises. Iran, Venezuela, and senior government officials in various countries have faced American sanctions, but there is an ongoing debate over the effectiveness of this tool. Four sanctions experts and Princeton alums will discuss in detail how financial sanctions are implemented, how financial institutions and individuals comply with sanctions, and whether they are a productive foreign policy tool.

Panelists:

David A. Baldwin *65 is Senior Political Scientist in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and Wallach Professor of Political Science Emeritus at Columbia University. He is the author or editor of 14 books and has contributed many articles to top academic journals. His book Economic Statecraft (Princeton University Press, 1985) received the Gladys M. Kammerer Award for best political science publication in 1985 on U.S. national policy from the American Political Science Association. He recently completed a study of the concept of power in international relations theory entitled Power and International Relations (Princeton University Press, 2016).

Thad McBride '95 is a partner at Bass, Berry & Sims PLC and leads the firm’s International Trade Practice Group.  He focuses his practice on counseling US and non-US companies on compliance with US export regulations (ITAR and EAR), economic sanctions and embargoes (OFAC), and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). He also handles matters in the area of customs and imports (CBP), advises clients on anti-boycott controls, and supports companies in matters involving the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

Meredith H. Terrell '91 is the Director of Global Sanctions Compliance at American Express since 2009.  She provides policy guidance and day-to-day sanctions issue resolution since 2007.  Prior to taking on her sanctions role, she provided legal and compliance support to both the private banking and offshore fund groups at the former American Express Bank Ltd., and in similar roles with units within Citigroup and Smith Barney.

Brian O'Toole '03 is a nonresident senior fellow of the Atlantic Council's Global Business & Economics Program where he contributes to the Council's Economic Sanctions Initiative. He served 13 years in the U.S. Government, most recently as the senior advisor to the director of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, where he was one of the principal authors of the Ukraine/Russia sanctions program.