In fact, the U.S. government has a tradition of putting its domestic law above international law and selectively applies international rules as it sees fit. For example, Washington has enacted such domestic laws as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act to target and sanction specific countries, entities or individuals.
The ambiguous rules contained in these acts and executive orders, such as the “minimum contacts” rule and the “effects doctrine,” are a willful expansion of the jurisdiction of America’s domestic laws.
And for more than six decades, despite dozens of UN General Assembly resolutions, the United States has pressed ahead with its comprehensive blockade against Cuba, the longest and cruelest systemic trade embargo and financial sanctions in modern history, based on its embargo policies and domestic laws such as the Torricelli Act and the Helms-Burton Act. The blockade has led to over 100 billion U.S. dollars of direct losses to Cuba’s economy.
