Trump sanction hammer tested as US retreats from Rusal penalty

President Donald Trump’s attempt to wield US economic strength as a weapon against foreign adversaries is being tested as the Treasury Department struggles to contain the fallout from its sanctions against the world’s second-largest aluminum producer.

The financial penalties imposed on Russia’s United Co. Rusal in April were intended to punish its majority owner, billionaire Oleg Deripaska, as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin.