I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5595 

To impose additional prohibitions relating to foreign boycotts under Export 

Control Reform Act of 2018, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 13, 2020 

Mr. ZELDIN (for himself, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. BARR, Mr. COOK, Mr. GIBBS, Mr. 

SCHWEIKERT, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. WALKER, Mr. 

GROTHMAN, Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee, Mr. PERRY, Mr. ROUZER, 

Mr. KATKO, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. LATTA, Mr. ROGERS of Alabama, Mr. 

COMER, Mrs. RODGERS of Washington, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. MOONEY of 

West Virginia, Mr. BIGGS, Mr. FLORES, Mr. BYRNE, Mr. BABIN, Mr. 

BANKS, Mr. MITCHELL, Mr. MAST, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. 

JOHNSON of Ohio, Mrs. WALORSKI, Mr. KUSTOFF of Tennessee, Mr. 

GAETZ, Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, Mr. ESTES, Ms. 

FOXX of North Carolina, Mr. ABRAHAM, Mr. GRAVES of Georgia, Mr. 

DESJARLAIS, Mr. DAVIDSON of Ohio, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. 

COLLINS of Georgia, Mr. COLE, Mr. DUNN, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. 

NEWHOUSE, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. BUCSHON, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. BUDD, Mr. 

DIAZ-BALART, Mr. LONG, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. FERGUSON, Mr. AUSTIN

SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. CARTER of Texas, Mr. CURTIS, Mr. YOHO, and 

Mr. NORMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To impose additional prohibitions relating to foreign boycotts 

under Export Control Reform Act of 2018, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Israel Anti-Boycott 

3 Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that— 

6 (1) the Government of the United States should 

7 use its voice, vote, and influence with and in inter8 national governmental organizations to actively op9 pose politically motivated actions to boycott, divest 

10 from, or sanction Israel; 

11 (2) the Government of the United States com12 bats anti-Israel boycotts and other discriminatory 

13 activity under the Export Control Reform Act of 

14 2018 (subtitle B of title XVII of Public Law 115– 

15 232), under part VI of title X of the Tax Reform 

16 Act of 1976 (Public Law 94–455; 90 Stat. 1649) 

17 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Ribicoff Amend18 ment’’), through trade promotion authorities, in free 

19 trade agreements, and in accession negotiations to 

20 the World Trade Organization; however, due to the 

21 increased anti-Israel economic activity in inter22 national governmental organizations, it is necessary 

23 to update Federal authorities to combat anti-Israel 

24 boycotts and other discriminatory activity in such 

25 fora, including the United Nations Human Rights 

26 Council; 


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1 (3) actions to boycott, divest from, or sanction 

2 Israel represent a concerted effort to extract conces3 sions from Israel outside of direct negotiations be4 tween the Israelis and Palestinians; and 

5 (4) the United States-Israel Strategic Partner6 ship Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–296; 128 Stat. 

7 4075) should be fully implemented through en8 hanced, governmentwide, coordinated United States9 Israel scientific and technological cooperation in ci10 vilian areas, such as with respect to energy, water, 

11 agriculture, alternative fuel technology, civilian space 

12 technology, and security in order to counter the ef13 fects of actions to boycott, divest from, or sanction 

14 Israel. 

15 SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO FOR16 EIGN BOYCOTTS UNDER EXPORT CONTROL 

17 REFORM ACT OF 2018. 

18 (a) DECLARATION OF POLICY.—Section 1772 of the 

19 Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4841) is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol22 lows: 

23 ‘‘(1) to oppose restrictive trade practices or 

24 boycotts fostered or imposed by foreign countries or 

25 international governmental organizations, or efforts 


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1 by foreign countries or international governmental 

2 organizations to collect information that have the ef3 fect of furthering or supporting restrictive trade 

4 practices or boycotts fostered or imposed by foreign 

5 countries or international governmental organiza6 tions, against other countries friendly to the United 

7 States or against any United States person;’’; and 

8 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘or inter9 national governmental organization’’ after ‘‘any for10 eign country’’. 

11 (b) FOREIGN BOYCOTTS.—Section 1773 of the Ex12 port Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4842) is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

16 (i) in the matter preceding subpara17 graph (A)— 

18 (I) by striking ‘‘United States 

19 person’’ and inserting ‘‘covered per20 son’’; and 

21 (II) by inserting after ‘‘foreign 

22 country’’ the following: ‘‘or an inter23 national governmental organization, 

24 or efforts by a foreign country or 

25 international governmental organizaVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Jan 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5595.IH H5595

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1 tion to collect information that have 

2 the effect of furthering or supporting 

3 restrictive trade practices or boycotts 

4 fostered or imposed by a foreign coun5 try or international governmental or6 ganization,’’; 

7 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

8 ‘‘or international governmental organiza9 tion (as the case may be)’’ after ‘‘of the 

10 boycotting country’’; 

11 (iii) in subparagraph (D)— 

12 (I) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ after 

13 ‘‘(D)’’; 

14 (II) by inserting ‘‘or with the 

15 international governmental organiza16 tion (as the case may be)’’ after ‘‘in 

17 the boycotting country’’; and 

18 (III) by striking the last sentence 

19 and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(ii) Furnishing information to a foreign 

21 country or international governmental organiza22 tion in response to efforts by a foreign country 

23 or international governmental organization to 

24 collect information that have the effect of fur25 thering or supporting a restrictive trade pracVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Jan 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5595.IH H5595

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1 tice or boycott fostered or imposed by a foreign 

2 country or international governmental organiza3 tion. Such information includes information 

4 about whether any person has, has had, or pro5 poses to have any business relationship (includ6 ing a relationship by way of sale, purchase, 

7 legal or commercial representation, shipping or 

8 other transport, insurance, investment, or sup9 ply)— 

10 ‘‘(I) with or in the country to which 

11 the restrictive trade practice or boycott ap12 plies; 

13 ‘‘(II) with any business concern orga14 nized under the laws of that country; 

15 ‘‘(III) with any national or resident of 

16 that country; or 

17 ‘‘(IV) with any other person which is 

18 known or believed to be restricted from 

19 having any business relationship with or in 

20 a foreign country, or with an international 

21 governmental organization, that fosters or 

22 imposes the restrictive trade practice or 

23 boycott. 

24 ‘‘(iii) Nothing in this paragraph shall pro25 hibit the furnishing of normal business informaVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Jan 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5595.IH H5595

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1 tion in a commercial context as defined by the 

2 Secretary.’’; and 

3 (iv) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

4 ‘‘United States person’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘covered person’’; and 

6 (B) in paragraph (2)(F), by striking 

7 ‘‘United States person’’ and inserting ‘‘covered 

8 person’’; and 

9 (C) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘United 

10 States person’’ and inserting ‘‘covered person’’; 

11 (2) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘or inter12 national governmental organizations against other 

13 countries, or regarding efforts by foreign countries 

14 or international governmental organizations to col15 lect information that have the effect of furthering or 

16 supporting restrictive trade practices or boycotts fos17 tered or imposed by foreign countries or inter18 national governmental organizations’’ after ‘‘foreign 

19 countries’’; and 

20 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(d) COVERED PERSON DEFINED.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

23 ‘covered person’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) any domestic concern (including any 

2 permanent domestic establishment of any for3 eign concern); 

4 ‘‘(B) any foreign subsidiary or affiliate (in5 cluding any permanent foreign establishment) 

6 of any domestic concern which is controlled in 

7 fact by such domestic concern, as determined 

8 under regulations of the President; 

9 ‘‘(C) the government of the United States 

10 or any State, territory, or possession of the 

11 United States, or any subdivision, department, 

12 agency, or commission of any such government; 

13 or 

14 ‘‘(D) an individual who is— 

15 ‘‘(i) a United States resident or na16 tional (other than such an individual resid17 ing outside the United States and em18 ployed by other than a United States per19 son); 

20 ‘‘(ii) an owner, officer, director, em21 ployee, or agent of a domestic concern de22 scribed in subparagraph (A) or a foreign 

23 subsidiary or affiliate described in subpara24 graph (B) or an officer, director, employee, 


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1 or agent of an entity described in subpara2 graph (C); and 

3 ‘‘(iii) acting in the individual’s official 

4 capacity as such an owner, officer, direc5 tor, employee, or agent. 

6 ‘‘(2) DOMESTIC CONCERN.—For purposes of 

7 paragraph (1), the term ‘domestic concern’ does not 

8 include an individual.’’. 

9 (c) VIOLATIONS OF SECTION 1773(a).—Section 1774 

10 of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 

11 4843) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘A person’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (e), 

14 a person’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(e) CERTAIN VIOLATIONS OF SECTION 1773(a).— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whoever knowingly violates 

18 or conspires to or attempts to violate a regulation 

19 issued under section 1773(a) prohibiting an action 

20 described in paragraph (2) shall be subject to only 

21 a monetary penalty under subsection (a) or (b). 

22 ‘‘(2) ACTIONS DESCRIBED.—An action de23 scribed in this paragraph is any action described in 

24 subparagraphs (A) through (F) of section 

25 1773(a)(1) taken by a covered person (as defined in 


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1 section 1773(d)), or knowingly agreed to be taken by 

2 such a person, with respect to the person’s activities 

3 in the interstate or foreign commerce of the United 

4 States, with the intent to comply with, further, or 

5 support— 

6 ‘‘(A) any boycott fostered or imposed by an 

7 international governmental organization against 

8 a country which is friendly to the United States 

9 and which is not itself the object of any form 

10 of boycott pursuant to United States law or 

11 regulation; or 

12 ‘‘(B) efforts by a foreign country or inter13 national governmental organization to collect 

14 information that have the effect of furthering or 

15 supporting restrictive trade practices or boy16 cotts fostered or imposed by a foreign country 

17 or international governmental organization 

18 against a country described in subparagraph 

19 (A).’’. 

20 (d) DEFINITIONS.—Part II of the Export Control Re21 form Act of 2018 is amended by adding at the end the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 1775. DEFINITIONS. 

24 ‘‘In this part: 


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1 ‘‘(1) INTERNATIONAL GOVERNMENTAL ORGANI2 ZATION.—The term ‘international governmental or3 ganization’ includes— 

4 ‘‘(A) the United Nations, including organi5 zations within the United Nations such as the 

6 United Nations Human Rights Council; and 

7 ‘‘(B) the European Union. 

8 ‘‘(2) EFFORTS BY A FOREIGN COUNTRY OR

9 INTERNATIONAL GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION, 

10 ETC.—The term ‘efforts by a foreign country or 

11 international governmental organization to collect in12 formation that have the effect of furthering or sup13 porting a restrictive trade practice or boycott fos14 tered or imposed by a foreign country or inter15 national governmental organization’ includes efforts 

16 by the United Nations Human Rights Council to col17 lect information for the establishment of a database 

18 of entities that operate, or have business relations 

19 with entities that operate, beyond Israel’s 1949 Ar20 mistice lines, including East Jerusalem.’’. 

21 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

22 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

23 of this Act and apply with respect to actions described 

24 in section 1773(a) of the Export Control Reform Act of 


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1 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4842(a)) taken or knowingly agreed to 

2 be taken on or after such date of enactment. 

3 SEC. 4. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

4 (a) NOTHING DIMINISHING FIRST AMENDMENT.— 

5 Nothing in this Act or an amendment made by this Act 

6 shall be construed to diminish or infringe upon any right 

7 protected under the first amendment to the Constitution. 

8 (b) NONCOMMERCIAL SPEECH OR OTHER EXPRES9 SIVE ACTIVITY.—Consistent with current enforcement 

10 practices of the Department of Commerce, nothing in this 

11 Act or an amendment made by this Act shall be construed 

12 to permit a person’s noncommercial speech or other non13 commercial expressive activity to be used— 

14 (1) as evidence to prove a violation of section 

15 1773(a) of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 

16 (50 U.S.C. 4842(a)), as amended by section 3(b), 

17 including as evidence to prove intent to violate such 

18 section 1773(a); or 

19 (2) as support for initiating an investigation 

20 into whether such a violation has occurred. 

Æ 


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