US Waives Sanctions on Nord Stream 2 Over Strategy Concerns Against China

In this file photo, workers are working on a pipe in the production hall at the Nord Stream 2 facility in Sassnitz, Germany. Carsten Koall/Getty Images

Commentary

On May 19, the U.S. State Department announced that the United States would waive sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 project. The statement noted that although the United States will continue to oppose this project, believing that it will weaken European energy security and that of Ukraine and Eastern Europe, the exemption of sanctions is in line with the commitment to rebuild relationships with European allies.