Explainer
Why Trump bid to lift CAATSA sanctions on Turkey faces complicated path
Trump's announcement could reset US-Turkey defense ties, but congressional approval and separate legal restrictions stand in the way.
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration would remove sanctions imposed on Turkey under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), signaling a potential breakthrough in a yearslong dispute between Washington and Ankara over the purchase of a Russian missile system.
“We are going to be taking the sanctions off. It's time,” Trump said during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Tuesday. “We don't want to sanction friends. It's very simple.”
But lifting the sanctions is not as simple as a presidential announcement. The penalties were imposed under a 2017 law passed by Congress, and removing them requires approval from lawmakers.
What are CAATSA sanctions?
