Trump administration is preparing sanctions against the International Criminal Court

The U.S. government under President Donald Trump is preparing sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. Two people familiar with the situation reportedly told Reuters that the measures have been drafted and are expected to be announced soon; the exact timing is unclear. The Wall Street Journal, citing officials, said the decision could be finalized as early as this week during the U.N. General Assembly. The U.S. State Department has not confirmed.

It is unclear what exactly the sanctions will entail. President Trump’s administration has already sanctioned several ICC judges and prosecutors, but it has not yet penalized the court as an institution. Entity-wide U.S. Treasury sanctions would generally bar American citizens and companies from providing funds, goods, or services to the ICC without a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control. That could disrupt staff payments, IT services, and the hiring of investigators.

The United States does not recognize the ICC, has never been a member, and does not extradite citizens or service members to it. China, Russia, India, and Israel take the same stance. Washington does not want the ICC’s jurisdiction to be applied to American or allied soldiers.

Following the 2024 release of ICC’s arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas military commander Mohammed Dief, the U.S. imposed new sanctions on ICC employees. The ICC wants to prosecute Israeli and Hamas leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Trump had also placed sanctions against other ICC members a year prior. In response, three ICC judges and, separately, three human rights organizations sued the American government to get them lifted.

U.S. officials want the court to drop the warrants against the Israeli leaders and to halt an earlier investigation into U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

In July, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a campaign to isolate the court and urged other countries to withdraw from the tribunal.

The ICC was established in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, genocides, and crimes against humanity.