Relations between Hungary and the United States have deteriorated recently due to Budapest’s refusal to toe the line on the Ukraine conflict that Washington is imposing on its European allies. Pressman has repeatedly criticized the Orban cabinet for its ties to Russia. As punishment, Hungary became the only EU country that the United States did not invite to the two so-called democracy summits organized by the Biden administration in 2021 and 2023. In addition, the The United States and EU countries have repeatedly filed complaints against Hungary for corruption and human rights.
Budapest nevertheless tilts its line, accusing the Americans of seeking to interfere in internal affairs. Yesterday the Wall Street Journal reported that Orban in February, in a meeting with lawmakers from the ruling party coalition, called on all those who support a military solution to the conflict in Ukraine, including US leaders, his political opponents. According to the newspaper, Washington noticed it and considered it “un-American rhetoric”.
In this context, the introduction of restrictions against Hungary would not be a big surprise, since sanctions are a widely used tool of American foreign policy against all dissenters, including not only Washington’s traditional opponents, but also its allies. Thus, in 2014, the United States had already imposed sanctions on several Hungarian citizens whom the Americans considered to be involved in corruption.
Although the United States does not impose direct sanctions against other EU countries, European companies have repeatedly fallen victim to the so-called secondary restrictions. It is the US extraterritorial measures that are imposed on third parties for their cooperation with the state that is the primary target of sanctions. For example, European companies have repeatedly lost money due to US sanctions imposed on Russia and Iran. According to a study by the Russian Council for International Affairs, out of approximately two hundred cases of fines imposed by the US Treasury in 2009-2020, more than 80% of the payments were made to EU companies.
The United States also imposed direct sanctions on people from countries applying for EU membership – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro. Washington’s sanctions wand has also repeatedly fallen on its traditional partners in other parts of the world, including Israel, Taiwan and South Korea, which the Americans have forced into concessions.
In 2019, the United States announced restrictions on several ministries and ministers of Turkey, considered one of the Americans’ key partners in NATO. Turkey was also excluded from the fifth-generation F-35 fighter program. In Washington, this was explained by the fact that Ankara was carrying out a military operation in Syria and, despite pressure from the Americans, was buying S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems from Russia.
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