US hits International Criminal Court with sweeping sanctions as part of
drive to dismantle tribunal
[October 10, 2026]
By MATTHEW LEE and MOLLY QUELL
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has imposed sweeping new
sanctions on the International Criminal Court as part of its campaign to
dismantle the tribunal over investigations into the United States and
its allies, including Israel.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions Friday, after the
Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to South African jurist Navi Pillay, a
former judge at the ICC and other international courts. Trump has
coveted that prize for himself.
“We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their
resources and crippling its ability to operate against us,” Rubio said
in a video address posted to social media. “The United States and the
American people are not subject to the jurisdiction of this fake ICC.”
The sanctions cut the court off from U.S.-based financial services,
technology companies and even using U.S. dollars. They set a six-month
timeline for U.S. companies and individuals that have business with the
court to wind that business down.
The ICC denounced the step as an attack on the rule of law and the
foundations of international order, themes that Rubio had appeared to
embrace only two days ago in a speech in front of the Acropolis in
Athens.
“It is an attempt to obstruct the course of justice and to prevent the
court from doing what it was created to do," the court said in a
statement. "It is an assault on the rule of law and on the very
foundations of the international legal order which strikes at the simple
principle that no one stands above the law.”
ICC President Tomoko Akane, a citizen of U.S. ally Japan, said the court
would “continue to fully discharge its mandate, with independence and
impartiality, acting only on the basis of the law and the evidence, for
the sake of the countless victims of grave crimes.”
She also appealed to other ICC members for support. “This is not just
about defending a single institution, but about safeguarding the
international order grounded upon the rule of law.”
Rights groups also denounced the sanctions.
“This existential attack must fail," said Erika Guevara Rosas, an
Amnesty International senior director. “States must take concrete action
to resist the imposition of these measures and actively protect the
Court.”
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The court's host country of the Netherlands has been preparing for
weeks for the move. One possible measure to mitigate sanctions is
the EU “blocking statute,” which could be used to protect European
court staff by preventing European companies from complying with the
U.S. measures. Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen has called the
blocking statute the “nuclear option” in countering possible
sanctions, but said the Netherlands has been in talks with the
European Commission to ensure that if it is necessary it can be
quickly enacted.
In a joint statement, Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy,
Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom expressed strong
disagreement with the U.S. sanctions.
“We will continue to work together to support the court’s vital
work, uphold the rules-based international system, and advance
accountability," the statement said.
“If put into effect, these sanctions will have a significant impact
on the court’s work, its dedicated staff and their families. They
work every day to bring those accused of the most serious
international crimes to justice and to support their victims.”
Rubio said U.S. allies should join in the U.S. actions. “If they do
not, the United States will continue its campaign to dismantle the
ICC, piece by piece, until Americans are threatened no longer,” he
said.
A number of countries have withdrawn from the court this year,
including Venezuela and Chad. The South Pacific island nation of
Naoero was the most recent to announce it would quit.
___
Quell reported from The Hague, Netherlands. Associated Press writer
Mike Corder contributed from The Hague.
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