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[House Document 107-26]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                     

107th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 107-26

 
THE PRESIDENT'S PERIODIC REPORT ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT 
                               TO BURMA

                             COMMUNICATION

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

 HIS 6-MONTH PERIODIC REPORT ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO 
    BURMA THAT WAS DECLARED IN EXECUTIVE ORDER 13047 OF MAY 20, 1997

January 20, 2001.--Referred to the Committee on International Relations 
                       and ordered to be printed

                                           The White House,
                                      Washington, January 19, 2001.

Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.

    Dear Mr. Speaker: As required by section 401(c) of the 
National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1641(c), and section 204(c) 
of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), 50 
U.S.C. 1703(c), I transmit herewith a 6-month periodic report 
on the national emergency with respect to Burma that was 
declared in Executive Order 13047 of May 20, 1997.

            Sincerely,

                                                William J. Clinton.

 President's Periodic Report on the National Emergency With Respect to 
                                 Burma

    I hereby report to the Congress on developments concerning 
the national emergency with respect to Burma that I declared in 
Executive Order 13047 of May 20, 1997, pursuant to section 570 
of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related 
Programs Appropriations Act (the ``Act'') and the International 
Emergency Economic Powers Act (``IEEPA''). This report is 
submitted pursuant to section 204(c) of IEEPA, 50 U.S.C. 
1703(c), and section 401(c) of the National Emergencies Act, 50 
U.S.C. 1641(c). This report discusses only matters concerning 
the national emergency with respect to Burma that was declared 
in Executive Order 13047.
    1. On May 20, 1997, I issued Executive Order No. 13047 (62 
Fed. Reg. 28301, May 22, 1997), effective on May 21, 1997, to 
declare a national emergency with respect to Burma and to 
prohibit new investment in Burma by U.S. persons, except to the 
extent provided in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses 
that may be issued in conformity with section 570 of the Act. 
The Order also prohibits any approval or other facilitation by 
a U.S. person, wherever located, of a transaction by a foreign 
person where the transaction would constitute new investment in 
Burma prohibited by the Order if engaged in by a U.S. person or 
within the United States. This action was taken in response to 
the large-scale repression of the democratic opposition by the 
Government of Burma since September 30, 1996. A copy of the 
Order was provided to the Speaker of the House and the 
President of the Senate by letter dated May 20, 1997.
    By its terms, Executive Order 13047 does not prohibit the 
entry into, performance of, or financing of a contract to sell 
or purchase goods, services, or technology, except: (1) where 
the entry into such contract on or after May 21, 1997 is for 
the general supervision and guarantee of another persons' 
performance of a contract for the economic development of 
resources located in Burma; or (2) where such contract provides 
for payment, in whole or in part, in (i) shares of ownership, 
including an equity interest, in the economic development of 
resources located in Burma; or (ii) participation in royalties, 
earnings, or profits in the economic development of resources 
located in Burma.
    2. On May 21, 1998, the Department of the Treasury's Office 
of Foreign Assets Control (``OFAC'') issued the Burmese 
Sanctions Regulations (the ``Regulations''), 31 C.F.R. Part 
537, to implement the prohibitions of Executive Order 13047 (63 
Fed. Reg. 27846, May 21, 1998). The Regulations apply to U.S. 
persons, defined to include U.S. citizens and permanent 
resident aliens wherever they are located, entities organized 
under U.S. law (including their foreign branches), and entities 
and individuals actually located in the United States. The 
sanctions do not apply directly to foreign subsidiaries of U.S. 
firms, although foreign firms' activities may be affected by 
the restriction on U.S. persons' facilitation of a foreign 
person's investment transactions in Burma.
    The term ``new investment'' means any of the following 
activities if such an activity is undertaken pursuant to an 
agreement, or pursuant to the exercise of rights under such an 
agreement, that is entered into with the Government of Burma, 
or a nongovernmental entity in Burma, on or after May 21, 1997: 
(a) The entry into a contract that includes the economic 
development of resources located in Burma; (b) the entry into a 
contract providing for the general supervision and guarantee of 
another person's performance of a contract that includes the 
economic development of resources located in Burma; (c) the 
purchase of a share of ownership, including an equity interest, 
in the economic development of resources located in Burma; or 
(d) the entry into a contract providing for the participation 
in royalties, earnings, or profits in the economic development 
of resources located in Burma, without regard to the form of 
participation.
    3. In early July 1997, OFAC sent notification letters to 
approximately 50 U.S. firms with operations in or ties to Burma 
informing them of the restrictions on new investment. The 
letters included copies of Executive Order 13047, provided 
clarification of several technical issues, and urged firms to 
contact OFAC if they had specific questions on the application 
of the Executive Order to their particular circumstances.
    OFAC continues to disseminate details of this program to 
the financial, securities, and international trade communities 
by both electronic and conventional media. This includes 
posting the Executive Order, Regulations, and other notices 
about the Burmese sanctions on the Internet, computer bulletin 
boards, and fax-on-demand services, and providing the material 
to the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon for distribution to U.S. 
companies operating in Burma.
    In the six-month period since May 20, 2000, OFAC has issued 
no amendments to the Regulations or specific licenses 
authorizing transactions otherwise prohibited by the 
Regulations, and has neither assessed nor collected any civil 
monetary penalty for a violation of the Regulations.
    4. The expenses incurred by the Federal Government in the 
six-month period from May 20 through November 19, 2000 that are 
directly attributable to the exercise of powers and authorities 
conferred by the declaration of a national emergency with 
respect to Burma are estimated at approximately $6,000, most of 
which represent wage and salary costs for Federal personnel. 
Personnel costs were largely centered in the Department of the 
Treasury (particularly in the Office of Foreign Assets Control, 
the Office of the Under Secretary for Enforcement, and the 
Office of the General Counsel), and the Department of State 
(particularly the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, the 
Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and the Office of the 
Legal Adviser).
    5. The situation reviewed above continues to present an 
extraordinary and unusual threat to the national security and 
foreign policy of the United States. The declaration of the 
national emergency with respect to Burma contained in Executive 
Order 13047 in response to the large-scale repression of the 
democratic opposition by the Government of Burma since 
September 30, 1996 reflected the belief that it is in the 
national security and foreign policy interests of the United 
States to seek an end to abuses of human rights in Burma, to 
support efforts to achieve democratic reform which would 
promote regional peace and stability, and to urge effective 
counter-narcotics policies.
    In the past six months, the State Peace and Development 
Council (``SPDC'') has shown no sign of willingness to cede its 
hold on absolute power. Since refusing to recognize the results 
of the free and fair 1990 elections in which the National 
League for Democracy won a vast majority of both the popular 
vote and the parliamentary seats, the ruling junta has 
continued to refuse to negotiate with pro-democracy forces and 
ethnic groups for a genuine political settlement to allow a 
return to the rule of law and respect for basic human rights. 
Burma has taken limited but insufficient steps to counter 
narcotics productions and trafficking.
    The net effect of U.S. and international measures to 
pressure the SPDC to end its repression and move toward 
democratic government has been a further decline in investor 
confidence in Burma and deeper stagnation of the Burmese 
economy. Observers agree that the Burmese economy appears to be 
further weakening and that the government has a serious 
shortage of foreign exchange reserves with which to pay for 
imports. While Burma's economic crisis is largely a result of 
the SPDC's own heavy-handed mismanagement, the SPDC is unlikely 
to find a way out of the crisis unless political developments 
permit an easing of international pressure. I shall continue to 
exercise the powers at my disposal to deal with these problems 
and will report periodically to the Congress on significant 
developments.

                                
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