About Rex Tillerson
Rex Tillerson served as U.S. Secretary of State from February 2017 to March 2018. During his tenure, he described the administration's approach to North Korea as a "peaceful pressure campaign," which he said was the same as what President Donald Trump called the "maximum pressure campaign." Tillerson stated that the re-designation of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism in November 2017 was a step to hold the country accountable for actions including assassinations and the use of banned chemical weapons. He said the sanctions were having an effect, citing fuel shortages and reduced revenues, and expressed hope that the pressure would lead Kim Jong Un to reverse the nuclear weapons program.
Tillerson was fired by President Trump on March 13, 2018, and announced he would delegate his responsibilities to Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan to ensure a smooth transition. In his farewell address to State Department staff, he said the department had "exceeded the expectations of almost everyone" with the North Korea pressure campaign and noted accomplishments including ceasefires in Syria and the adoption of a South Asia strategy. He also said Russia must "assess carefully" its actions, warning that continuing on its current trajectory could lead to "greater isolation." In his final remarks, Tillerson told staff that Washington "can be a very mean-spirited town" but that "you don't have to choose to participate in that."
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Rex Tillerson's recent appearances.
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✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
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Senator0:00
Now today, in response to a previous question by Senator Cardin, you said sanctions are a powerful tool. But you have made statements and given speeches where you have said you do not believe sanctions are a useful tool. So if sanctions are not a useful tool, have you changed your view? What are the tools of peaceful diplomacy you will use to get countries to return and act within the international order? What are you going to say to Vladimir Putin when he says to you, 'But Rex, you said sanctions were bad'?
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Rex Tillerson0:32
Senator, I think it's important to acknowledge that when sanctions are imposed, they by their design are going to harm American business. The idea is to disrupt America's business engagement in whatever country is being targeted for sanctions.
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Senator0:50
Broadly, I don't think it's to disrupt American business. I think it's to disrupt the economies of those countries. Now, American business may or may not be affected to some degree. If America is going to have an influence on disrupting those economies, then the intent behind the sanctions is to disrupt that country's access to American business investment, money flows, technology, financial sectors.
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Rex Tillerson1:19
Correct. Our financial sector. So, it's very... and I'm only stating a fact, I'm not debating it. But the fact is, sanctions in order to be implemented do impact American business interests. In protecting America's interest, and I think this is where the President-elect would see the argument as well, is sanctions are a powerful tool. Let's design them well, let's target them well, and then let's enforce them fully. And to the extent we can, if we can have other countries join us, or if we are designing sanctions in concert, let's ensure those sanctions apply equally everywhere.
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Senator2:00
So, with respect, and I have a long list here which I'll introduce for the record, you did not differentiate that way. You basically made the broad case that sanctions are not an effective tool. Now, I heard your response now, but in your opening statement you said that, quote, 'America must continue to display a commitment to personal liberty, human dignity, principled action in our foreign policy, and that we are the only global superpower with the means and moral compass capable of shaping the world for good.' I totally agree with that. But Mr. Tillerson, our efforts in leading the international community, for example on sanctions against our adversaries like Iran and North Korea, represent exactly that leadership and a moral compass. It's not about disadvantaging American businesses, it's about putting patriotism over profit. Diplomacy is not the same as dealmaking. Diplomacy requires getting other countries often to do things they may not always want to do, and there isn't necessarily something to trade for it. This is how we were able to build an extensive and effective sanctions network against Iran through legislation from Congress and diplomatic pressure from Secretaries of State across different administrations. We were able to build the framework of primary and secondary actions that ultimately crippled Iran's economy. Now, you lobbied against the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act, which I was the author of. You reportedly, under ExxonMobil, but you were the head of ExxonMobil, wanted to eliminate secondary sanctions that would prevent joint ventures. This makes sense, as in 2003 and 2004 and 2005, you were engaged through a subsidiary company in businesses with countries who the United States listed as state sponsors of terrorism, including Iran, Syria, and the Sudan.
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