The U.S. has long used the extra-territorial pursuit of criminal sanctions as an instrument of foreign policy.

It does this in many ways, from the imposition of sanctions to prevent technology, equipment and investment from reaching regimes and non-state actors it perceives as threatening its interests, to utilising its dominance of the international financial system to police transfers of funds which affect its national interests, either through the funding of terrorism, insurgencies, investment in hostile states or the laundering of the proceeds of corruption, narcotics and other criminality.