Columbia | SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy

Program director Richard Nephew explores what Trump might do in his four years in office from the perspective of economic statecraft and the logical results of his actions.

Jason Bordoff and Richard Nephew examine what reimposing sanctions on Iran would mean for oil markets. They assess the likelihood that sanctions reimposition would pull large volumes of Iranian oil off the market and what impact that would have on oil markets and how the possibility of reimposition affects Iran’s negotiating posture within OPEC.

Richard Nephew explores what would happen should President-elect Trump attempt to renegotiate the Iran nuclear deal in a new commentary. Nephew outlines and addresses three key questions that face the next Administration: Can the future president get more from Iran as part of a negotiated arrangement?; How much more does he need to get to declare success?; What will he risk in order to get it?

On the four-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, which devastated communities along the Northeastern coast of the United States and caused significant power, fuel and transportation disruptions to millions of families and businesses in the Tri-State region, non-resident Fellow Robert Hallman writes that since the storm, considerable progress has been made to improve the resilience of the electric grid and prioritize power restoration to critical fuel supply infrastructure; however, there is still an urgent need for local governments to do more.

Richard Nephew argues that far from only imposing sanctions or sanctions-like authorities when U.S. interests are directly impinged, sanctions are increasingly being used as a substitute for more effective action, to avoid taking more risky (but probably necessary) action, and to address domestic political needs in the United States. He uses the example of bill H.R. 5461, or the Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act as one example of when the United States should choose not to act (i.e. not pass the bill).