Overusing trade sanctions backfires economically because if you get 'too fast and loose' with embargoes, trading partners lose confidence and decide the U.S. is not a reliable supplier; trade cut off does not simply switch back on, so policymakers must be careful — what Shultz called 'light switch diplomacy.'

causalpending

Speaker

George Shultz

Evidence Quote

I called it light switch diplomacy it doesn't work it's not like a light switch

Source

George Shultz on Economics, Human Rights and the Fall of the Soviet Union 9/3/2007EconTalk
Created: 6/15/2026, 9:20:22 AM

My Notes

Loading notes...