The excellent draft strategy on the Economics of health for all calls on states to “Ensure social protection policies benefit individuals based on risks across the life course and people experiencing poverty and social exclusion.” This includes persons living in states subject to trade sanctions. In principle, many states recognize the need for exceptions to trade sanctions for medicine, medical equipment, and humanitarian goods. However, those exceptions are often poorly designed. Businesses and non-profit entities are discouraged from or unable to navigate complex and restrictive procedures to utilize the exceptions. The costs of compliance with trade sanctions, and their unintended consequences, are an under-studied and under-remedied topic.