US issues additional Taliban sanctions exemptions to allow Afghanistan aid
- The US Treasury also updated guidance to make clear that exports of goods and cash transfers are allowed as long as they do not go to individuals targeted by US sanctions
- The United States issued an initial round of humanitarian aid exemptions to sanctions a few weeks after the Taliban takeover
The United States announced additional steps on Wednesday easing sanctions against the Taliban to allow aid groups to funnel desperately needed help to the people of Afghanistan.
As the conflict-battered country faces an economic collapse and an acute shortage of food, the US Treasury also updated guidance to make clear that exports of goods and cash transfers are allowed as long as they do not go to individuals targeted by US sanctions.
The US Treasury said the latest steps also “help implement” the UN Security Council resolution adopted on Wednesday that allows aid to flow into the country for one year without violating international sanctions aimed at isolating the Taliban.
“We are committed to supporting the people of Afghanistan, which is why Treasury is taking these additional steps to facilitate assistance,” US deputy secretary of the treasury Wally Adeyemo said in a statement.
Since the Taliban takeover in August, Washington froze US$9.5 billion in reserves and the international community has withdrawn billions in humanitarian aid that Afghanistan and its population of roughly 40 million people relied on, and the currency has collapsed.
Without funds to pay civil servants, families have resorted to selling furniture and jewellery to make ends meet.
With the country also battered by drought and the Covid-19 pandemic, the United Nations early this month warned the “unprecedented fiscal shock” could cause the economy to contract by 20 per cent within a year.