Sanctions Rationalization Act of 1998

Summary: Sanctions Rationalization Act of 1998 - Authorizes the President to delay, suspend, or terminate any economic sanction with respect to a foreign country, if the President determines and reports to the Congress that initiating or continuing such sanction does not serve important U.S. national interests.  Declares that suspension or termination of a sanction shall take effect 30 days after submission of such report, and delay of a sanction shall take effect immediately following such submission, unless the Congress enacts a joint resolution of disapproval.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Sanctions Rationalization Act of 
1998''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO DELAY, SUSPEND, OR TERMINATE ECONOMIC SANCTIONS.

    (a) Authority.--
            (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, the President may delay, suspend, or terminate any 
        economic sanction (or portion thereof) with respect to a 
        foreign country, if the President determines and reports to 
        Congress that initiating or continuing such sanction (or 
        portion thereof), as the case may be, does not serve United 
        States important national interests.
            (2) Resumption of sanctions.--In the case of any sanction 
        delayed or suspended under paragraph (1), the President may 
        impose or resume imposition of the sanction, as the case may 
        be, if the President notifies the appropriate congressional 
        committees 30 days in advance.
    (b) Contents of Reports.--
            (1) In general.--A report submitted under subsection (a) 
        shall contain a description of the sanction (or portion 
        thereof) that the President proposes to delay, suspend, or 
        terminate and a detailed explanation of the events that have 
        occurred to make the imposition or continuation of the sanction 
        not in United States important national interests.
            (2) With respect to suspended sanctions.--In the case of 
        any sanction delayed or suspended under subsection (a), the 
        report required by that subsection shall include a statement of 
        the terms and conditions under which the sanction is delayed or 
        suspended.
    (c) Disapproval of Proposed Delays, Suspensions, or Terminations.--
            (1) Suspensions or terminations of sanctions.--In the case 
        of a suspension or termination of a sanction (or portion 
        thereof) described in a report submitted pursuant to subsection 
        (a), the suspension or termination shall take effect 30 days 
        after the President has submitted such report to Congress, 
        unless before that time, Congress has enacted a joint 
        resolution disapproving the determination made under subsection 
        (a).
            (2) Delays of sanctions.--In the case of a delay of a 
        sanction described in a report submitted pursuant to subsection 
        (a), the delay of a new sanction shall take effect immediately 
        following the submission of a report to Congress under 
        subsection (b)(1) of this section and shall remain in effect 
        until the President determines otherwise pursuant to subsection 
        (a)(2), unless Congress enacts a joint resolution disapproving 
        the determination under subsection (a) within 30 days of the 
        date the report was submitted to Congress.
    (d) Congressional Priority Procedures.--
            (1) In the senate.--Any joint resolution under this section 
        shall be considered in the Senate in accordance with the 
        provisions of section 601(b) of the International Security 
        Assistance and Arms Export Control Act of 1976.
            (2) In the house of representatives.--For the purpose of 
        expediting the consideration and enactment of joint resolutions 
        under this section, a motion to proceed to the consideration of 
        any such joint resolution after it has been reported by the 
        appropriate committee shall be treated as highly privileged in 
        the House of Representatives.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Economic sanction.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``economic sanction'' 
                means any prohibition, restriction, or condition on 
                economic activity or economic assistance with respect 
                to a foreign country or entity that is mandated by 
                statute, including any of the measures described in 
                subparagraph (B), except in a case in which the United 
                States imposes the measure pursuant to a multilateral 
                regime.
                    (B) Particular measures.--The measures referred to 
                in subparagraph (A) are the following:
                            (i) The suspension, restriction, or 
                        prohibition of exports or imports of any 
                        product, technology, or service to or from a 
                        foreign country or entity.
                            (ii) The suspension of, or any restriction 
                        or prohibition on, financial transactions, 
                        including economic assistance, with a foreign 
                        country or entity.
                            (iii) The suspension of, or any restriction 
                        or prohibition on, direct or indirect 
                        investment in or from a foreign country or 
                        entity.
                            (iv) The imposition of increased tariffs 
                        on, or other restrictions on imports of, 
                        products of a foreign country or entity, 
                        including the denial, revocation, or 
                        conditioning of nondiscriminatory (most-
                        favored-nation) trade treatment.
                            (v) The suspension of, or any restriction 
                        or prohibition on--
                                    (I) the authority of the Export-
                                Import Bank of the United States to 
                                give approval to the issuance of any 
                                guarantee, insurance, or extension of 
                                credit in connection with the export of 
                                goods or services to a foreign country 
                                or entity;
                                    (II) the authority of the Trade and 
                                Development Agency to provide 
                                assistance in connection with projects 
                                in a foreign country or in which a 
                                particular foreign entity participates; 
                                or
                                    (III) the authority of the Overseas 
                                Private Investment Corporation to 
                                provide insurance, reinsurance, 
                                financing, or conduct other activities 
                                in connection with projects in a 
                                foreign country or in which a 
                                particular foreign entity participates.
                            (vi) A requirement that the United States 
                        representative to an international financial 
                        institution vote against any loan or other 
                        utilization of funds to, for, or in a foreign 
                        country or particular foreign entity.
                            (vii) A measure imposing any restriction or 
                        condition on economic activity on any foreign 
                        government or entity on the ground that such 
                        government or entity does business in or with a 
                        foreign country.
                            (viii) A measure imposing any restriction 
                        or condition on economic activity on any person 
                        that is a national of a foreign country, or on 
                        any government or other entity of a foreign 
                        country, on the ground that the government of 
                        that country has not taken measures in 
                        cooperation with, or similar to, sanctions 
                        imposed by the United States on a third 
                        country.
                            (ix) The suspension of, or any restriction 
                        or prohibition on, travel rights or air 
                        transportation to or from a foreign country.
                            (x) Any restriction on the filing or 
                        maintenance in a foreign country of any 
                        proprietary interest in intellectual property 
                        rights (including patents, copyrights, and 
                        trademarks), including payment of patent 
                        maintenance fees.
                    (C) Multilateral regime.--As used in this 
                paragraph, the term ``multilateral regime'' means an 
                agreement, arrangement, or obligation under which the 
                United States cooperates with other countries in 
                restricting commerce for reasons of foreign policy or 
                national security, including--
                            (i) obligations under resolutions of the 
                        United Nations;
                            (ii) nonproliferation and export control 
                        arrangements, such as the Australia Group, the 
                        Nuclear Supplier's Group, the Missile 
                        Technology Control Regime, and the Wassenaar 
                        Arrangement;
                            (iii) treaty obligations, such as under the 
                        Chemical Weapons Convention, the Treaty on the 
                        Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and the 
                        Biological Weapons Convention; and
                            (iv) agreements concerning protection of 
                        the environment, such as the International 
                        Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic 
                        Tunas, the Convention on International Trade in 
                        Endangered Species, the Montreal Protocol on 
                        Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, and 
                        the Basel Convention on the Control 
of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes.
                    (D) Financial transaction.--As used in this 
                paragraph, the term ``financial transaction'' has the 
                meaning given that term in section 1956(c)(4) of title 
                18, United States Code.
                    (E) Investment.--As used in this paragraph, the 
                term ``investment'' means any contribution or 
                commitment of funds, commodities, services, patents, or 
                other forms of intellectual property, processes, or 
                techniques, including--
                            (i) a loan or loans;
                            (ii) the purchase of a share of ownership;
                            (iii) participation in royalties, earnings, 
                        or profits; and
                            (iv) the furnishing or commodities or 
                        services pursuant to a lease or other contract.
                    (F) Exclusions.--The term ``economic sanction'' 
                does not include--
                            (i) any measure imposed to remedy unfair 
                        trade practices or to enforce United States 
                        rights under a trade agreement, including under 
                        section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, title 
                        VII of that Act, title III of the Trade Act of 
                        1974, sections 1374 and 1377 of the Omnibus 
                        Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (19 
                        U.S.C. 3103 and 3106), and section 3 of the Act 
                        of March 3, 1933 (41 U.S.C. 10b-1);
                            (ii) any measure imposed to remedy market 
                        disruption or to respond to injury to a 
                        domestic industry for which increased imports 
                        are a substantial cause or threat thereof, 
                        including remedies under sections 201 and 406 
                        of the Trade Act of 1974, and textile import 
                        restrictions (including those imposed under 
                        section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956 (7 
                        U.S.C. 1784));
                            (iii) any action taken under title IV of 
                        the Trade Act of 1974, including the enactment 
                        of a joint resolution under section 402(d)(2) 
                        of that Act;
                            (iv) any measure imposed to restrict 
                        imports of agricultural commodities to protect 
                        food safety or to ensure the orderly marketing 
                        of commodities in the United States, including 
                        actions taken under section 22 of the 
                        Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 624);
                            (v) any measure imposed to restrict imports 
                        of any other products or services in order to 
                        protect domestic health or safety;
                            (vi) any measure authorized by, or imposed 
                        under, a multilateral or bilateral trade 
                        agreement to which the United States is a 
                        party, including the Uruguay Round Agreements, 
                        the North American Free Trade Agreement, the 
                        United States-Israel Free Trade Agreement, and 
                        the United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement;
                            (vii) any prohibition or restriction on the 
                        sale, export, lease, or other transfer of any 
                        defense article, defense service, or design and 
                        construction service under the Arms Export 
                        Control Act, or on any financing provided under 
                        that Act; and
                            (viii) any measure taken pursuant to 
                        section 307 of the Chemical and Biological 
                        Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 
                        1991 (22 U.S.C. 5605).
                            (ix) Any measure taken to enforce a federal 
                        criminal law.
            (2) Mandated by statute.--The term ``mandated by statute'' 
        means--
                    (A) a provision of statute that mandates action; 
                and
                    (B) does not include the grant of authority to any 
                official of the executive branch of Government that may 
                be exercised in the discretion of the official, except 
                that this exclusion does not apply to any provision of 
                law that is subject to--
                            (i) a delay in the imposition of the 
                        sanction; or
                            (ii) a waiver that may only be exercised on 
                        grounds more restrictive than a determination 
                        that it is in the important national interests 
                        of the United States to do so.