The Trump administration has imposed sweeping new sanctions on the International Criminal Court in an effort to dismantle the tribunal that President Trump, Secretary Rubio and congress believes has become politicized and attempted to unfairly and illegally prosecute Americans and Israelis on war crimes charges.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions Friday, after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to South African prosecutor Navi Pillay, a former judge at the ICC and other international courts. The ICC is based in the Netherlands, an EU and NATO member. Secretary Rubio made the announcement:

(VIA MSM) – […] US sanctions typically bar all US-based companies from any work with a sanctioned organization, forcing banks to shut accounts, insurers to end coverage and software companies to halt cooperation.

The Trump administration previously imposed targeted sanctions on court officials during his first term, which were rescinded under President Joe Biden. Washington announced new sanctions just days after Trump returned to office in January 2025.

[…] Court officials have been preparing for months for the prospect of sanctions on the court itself, shifting office computers from Microsoft software to open source equivalents and making new arrangements for banking and health insurance.

The court’s registrar Osvaldo Zavala Giler called earlier this week for the EU to be prepared to use a so-called “blocking mechanism” that lets it shield European countries from the extra-territorial effects of sanctions.

In his statement, Rubio said the United States had delayed its sanctions hoping that the ICC and the countries party to its founding Rome Statute would address US concerns, but they had failed to do so.

“Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC. We expect our allies, many of whom are part of the ICC and that rely on American servicemembers for their defense, to rein in the court,” Rubio said. (read more)