U.S. willful practice of long-arm jurisdiction harms others without benefiting itself

Cartoon by Ma Hongliang.

For a long time, the U.S. has frequently exerted long-arm jurisdiction over other countries in order to maintain its hegemony, and its "arms" are now extending further.

Its arbitrary sanctions have had a grave impact on the world.

By fiscal year 2021, the number of active U.S. sanctions designations had increased to more than 9,400, according to the Treasury 2021 Sanctions Review released by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

In 2021 alone, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Department of Commerce and other agencies imposed various sanctions on over 2,000 entities, according to a recent report titled "The U.S. Willful Practice of Long-arm Jurisdiction and its Perils".

Through long-arm jurisdiction, the U.S. has not only interfered in the internal affairs of other countries and undermined the international order, but has also violated the basic human rights of the people of other countries.

On Feb. 6, devastating earthquakes struck southern Türkiye, close to the Syrian border, causing massive casualties in the two neighboring countries.

However, despite the severe natural disaster, the U.S. still refused to lift its sanctions on Syria, hindering international relief and assistance from arriving at the quake-stricken areas.

With the world in urgent need of global solidarity, the U.S. will eventually find its willful practice of long-arm jurisdiction and illegal unilateral sanctions backfiring.