U.S. Sanction Power May Be Reaching Its Limit

``In July 2017, Germany's Kiel Institute for the World Economy published a study on the economic impact of multilateral sanctions imposed on Russia over its annexation of Crimea three years earlier. While Russia naturally took the biggest hit, a surprisingly large share of the losses--$44 billion--was borne by the sanctioners. Of that, almost 40 percent fell on Germany; only 0.6 percent hit the U.S. ... Reacting to Trump's Iran decision, French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire fumed, "Do we want to be vassals who obey decisions taken by the United States while clinging to the hem of their trousers?"''