U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

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89–011 2001

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


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(1)

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.

(3)

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 subVerDate 23-JAN-2001 06:10 Jan 24, 2001 Jkt 089012 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\OC\HD026.XXX pfrm08 PsN: HD026
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sidiaries 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 sixmonth 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

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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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