The first step that US would take would be to impose economic sanctions.
Step-by-step explanation:
In terms of US foreign policy, there is a strong focus on the human rights violation that they can suffer in their allies.
The nation places the emphasis to not trade or have relations with any country that insists on doing so.
As such, the first step in the process of condemnation is to impose economic sanctions on the nation.
This would hanker the trade that there was between the nations and force the other one to accept the US and the offers it is putting up in terms of stopping the human rights abuse in the country