Trump Administration Launches New Sanctions On International Criminal Court

The Trump administration imposed new sanctions on the International Criminal Court, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Friday.

“Today, the United States is sanctioning the International Criminal Court,” Rubio said in a video posted to social media. “We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling their ability to operate against us, because our message is clear: The United States and the American people are not subject to the jurisdiction of this fake ICC.”

He added, “either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC.”

Rubio’s announcement came hours after a former ICC judge, Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.

But the Trump administration has long been a fierce opponent of the ICC, due to calls for the court to try to prosecute U.S. officials and allies. The sanctions are part of the Trump administration’s larger effort to weaken international institutions and rules that President Donald Trump believes challenges U.S. influence.

The sanctions would create several operational challenges for the ICC including paying staff, accessing IT services and maintaining its detention facilities.

“It is deeply regrettable that the United States has announced intentions to impose sanctions. The EU will work closely with the ICC to ensure it continues to operate effectively,” the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, wrote in a statement following the announcement. “As there is a six-month delay before the measures are applicable, there is room for dialogue.”

Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen has asked the European Commission to prepare a so-called blocking statute, a legal measure that would effectively block the sanctions from being imposed inside the European Union.

But an EU diplomat, who was granted anonymity because they aren’t authorized to discuss the issue publicly, said that there was no appetite to “immediately trigger” the blocking statute in the EU.

“The sanctions would only take effect in six months’ time, leaving space for further dialogue,” the diplomat said.

EU foreign ministers are due to discuss the U.S. sanctions during a gathering in Luxembourg on Monday. A senior EU official, similarly granted anonymity, added that Brussels would follow the lead of The Hague in imposing any potential measures.

“Over the past few months, we have been in contact with the Americans at virtually every diplomatic level to make it clear that the International Criminal Court is crucial to the international legal order,” Netherlands’ Prime Minister Rob Jetten said at a press conference in The Hague on Friday, hours before the sanctions were announced.

After Rubio's statement, Jetten struck a more resolute tone. "We will do whatever we can in the next six months to have open conversations and full negotiations with all parties involved to prevent the implementation of these announced sanctions by April next year," he told reporters.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has an ICC arrest warrant for allegations of war crimes in Gaza and is a staunch opponent of the court, commended the U.S. sanctions, saying on social media that "the ICC is not a court. It is a political body that poses a moral threat to law abiding democracies worldwide and to the very idea of national sovereignty."

Last year, the Trump administration sanctioned two ICC judges for their "politicized and illegitimate actions against Israel."

Across bipartisan administrations, the U.S. has long had a strained relationship with the ICC. But Trump has been particularly hostile to the international court.

Both his first and second administrations have repeatedly sanctioned the ICC or its officials.

Sonja Rijnen and Gregorio Sorgi contributed to this report.