II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 927

To authorize the President to delay, suspend, or terminate economic sanctions

if it is in the important national interest of the United States to do so.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 29, 1999

Mr. DODD (for himself and Mr. HAGEL) introduced the following bill; which

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

A BILL

To authorize the President to delay, suspend, or terminate

economic sanctions if it is in the important national

interest of the United States to do so.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sanctions Rationaliza5 tion Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO DELAY, SUSPEND, OR TERMINATE

7 ECONOMIC SANCTIONS.

8 (a) AUTHORITY.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

10 provision of law, the President may delay, suspend,
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1 or terminate any economic sanction (or portion

2 thereof) with respect to a foreign country, if the

3 President determines and reports to Congress that

4 initiating or continuing such sanction (or portion

5 thereof), as the case may be, does not serve United

6 States important national interests.

7 (2) RESUMPTION OF SANCTIONS.—In the case

8 of any sanction delayed or suspended under para9 graph (1), the President may impose or resume im10 position of the sanction, as the case may be, if the

11 President notifies the appropriate congressional com12 mittees 30 days in advance.

13 (b) CONTENTS OF REPORTS.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—A report submitted under

15 subsection (a) shall contain a description of the

16 sanction (or portion thereof) that the President pro17 poses to delay, suspend, or terminate and a detailed

18 explanation of the events that have occurred to make

19 the imposition or continuation of the sanction not in

20 United States important national interests.

21 (2) WITH RESPECT TO SUSPENDED SANC22 TIONS.—In the case of any sanction delayed or sus23 pended under subsection (a), the report required by

24 that subsection shall include a statement of the
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1 terms and conditions under which the sanction is de2 layed or suspended.

3 (c) DISAPPROVAL OF PROPOSED DELAYS, SUSPEN4 SIONS, OR TERMINATIONS.—

5 (1) SUSPENSIONS OR TERMINATIONS OF SANC6 TIONS.—In the case of a suspension or termination

7 of a sanction (or portion thereof) described in a re8 port submitted pursuant to subsection (a), the sus9 pension or termination shall take effect 30 days

10 after the President has submitted such report to

11 Congress, unless before that time, Congress has en12 acted a joint resolution disapproving the determina13 tion made under subsection (a).

14 (2) DELAYS OF SANCTIONS.—In the case of a

15 delay of a sanction described in a report submitted

16 pursuant to subsection (a), the delay of a new sanc17 tion shall take effect immediately following the sub18 mission of a report to Congress under subsection

19 (b)(1) and shall remain in effect until the President

20 determines otherwise pursuant to subsection (a)(2),

21 unless Congress enacts a joint resolution dis22 approving the determination under subsection (a)

23 within 30 days of the date the report was submitted

24 to Congress.

25 (d) CONGRESSIONAL PRIORITY PROCEDURES.—
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1 (1) IN THE SENATE.—Any joint resolution

2 under this section shall be considered in the Senate

3 in accordance with the provisions of section 601(b)

4 of the International Security Assistance and Arms

5 Export Control Act of 1976.

6 (2) IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—

7 For the purpose of expediting the consideration and

8 enactment of joint resolutions under this section, a

9 motion to proceed to the consideration of any such

10 joint resolution after it has been reported by the ap11 propriate committee shall be treated as highly privi12 leged in the House of Representatives.

13 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

14 (1) ECONOMIC SANCTION.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘economic

16 sanction’’ means any prohibition, restriction, or

17 condition on economic activity or economic as18 sistance with respect to a foreign country or en19 tity that is mandated by statute, including any

20 of the measures described in subparagraph (B),

21 except in a case in which the United States im22 poses the measure pursuant to a multilateral

23 regime.
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1 (B) PARTICULAR MEASURES.—The meas2 ures referred to in subparagraph (A) are the

3 following:

4 (i) The suspension, restriction, or pro5 hibition of exports or imports of any prod6 uct, technology, or service to or from a for7 eign country or entity.

8 (ii) The suspension of, or any restric9 tion or prohibition on, financial trans10 actions, including economic assistance,

11 with a foreign country or entity.

12 (iii) The suspension of, or any restric13 tion or prohibition on, direct or indirect in14 vestment in or from a foreign country or

15 entity.

16 (iv) The imposition of increased tar17 iffs on, or other restrictions on imports of,

18 products of a foreign country or entity, in19 cluding the denial, revocation, or condi20 tioning of nondiscriminatory (most-fa21 vored-nation) trade treatment.

22 (v) The suspension of, or any restric23 tion or prohibition on—

24 (I) the authority of the Export25 Import Bank of the United States to
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1 give approval to the issuance of any

2 guarantee, insurance, or extension of

3 credit in connection with the export of

4 goods or services to a foreign country

5 or entity;

6 (II) the authority of the Trade

7 and Development Agency to provide

8 assistance in connection with projects

9 in a foreign country or in which a

10 particular foreign entity participates;

11 or

12 (III) the authority of the Over13 seas Private Investment Corporation

14 to provide insurance, reinsurance, fi15 nancing, or conduct other activities in

16 connection with projects in a foreign

17 country or in which a particular for18 eign entity participates.

19 (vi) A requirement that the United

20 States representative to an international fi21 nancial institution vote against any loan or

22 other utilization of funds to, for, or in a

23 foreign country or particular foreign entity.

24 (vii) A measure imposing any restric25 tion or condition on economic activity on
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1 any foreign government or entity on the

2 ground that such government or entity

3 does business in or with a foreign country.

4 (viii) A measure imposing any restric5 tion or condition on economic activity on

6 any person that is a national of a foreign

7 country, or on any government or other en8 tity of a foreign country, on the ground

9 that the government of that country has

10 not taken measures in cooperation with, or

11 similar to, sanctions imposed by the

12 United States on a third country.

13 (ix) The suspension of, or any restric14 tion or prohibition on, travel rights or air

15 transportation to or from a foreign coun16 try.

17 (x) Any restriction on the filing or

18 maintenance in a foreign country of any

19 proprietary interest in intellectual property

20 rights (including patents, copyrights, and

21 trademarks), including payment of patent

22 maintenance fees.

23 (C) MULTILATERAL REGIME.—As used in

24 this paragraph, the term ‘‘multilateral regime’’

25 means an agreement, arrangement, or obliga-
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1 tion under which the United States cooperates

2 with other countries in restricting commerce for

3 reasons of foreign policy or national security,

4 including—

5 (i) obligations under resolutions of the

6 United Nations;

7 (ii) nonproliferation and export con8 trol arrangements, such as the Australia

9 Group, the Nuclear Supplier’s Group, the

10 Missile Technology Control Regime, and

11 the Wassenaar Arrangement;

12 (iii) treaty obligations, such as under

13 the Chemical Weapons Convention, the

14 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear

15 Weapons, and the Biological Weapons Con16 vention; and

17 (iv) agreements concerning protection

18 of the environment, such as the Inter19 national Convention for the Conservation

20 of Atlantic Tunas, the Convention on

21 International Trade in Endangered Spe22 cies, the Montreal Protocol on Substances

23 that Deplete the Ozone Layer, and the

24 Basel Convention on the Control of
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1 Transboundary Movements of Hazardous

2 Wastes.

3 (D) FINANCIAL TRANSACTION.—As used

4 in this paragraph, the term ‘‘financial trans5 action’’ has the meaning given that term in sec6 tion 1956(c)(4) of title 18, United States Code.

7 (E) INVESTMENT.—As used in this para8 graph, the term ‘‘investment’’ means any con9 tribution or commitment of funds, commodities,

10 services, patents, or other forms of intellectual

11 property, processes, or techniques, including—

12 (i) a loan or loans;

13 (ii) the purchase of a share of owner14 ship;

15 (iii) participation in royalties, earn16 ings, or profits; and

17 (iv) the furnishing or commodities or

18 services pursuant to a lease or other con19 tract.

20 (F) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘economic

21 sanction’’ does not include—

22 (i) any measure imposed to remedy

23 unfair trade practices or to enforce United

24 States rights under a trade agreement, in25 cluding under section 337 of the Tariff Act
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1 of 1930, title VII of that Act, title III of

2 the Trade Act of 1974, sections 1374 and

3 1377 of the Omnibus Trade and Competi4 tiveness Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C. 3103 and

5 3106), and section 3 of the Act of March

6 3, 1933 (41 U.S.C. 10b–1);

7 (ii) any measure imposed to remedy

8 market disruption or to respond to injury

9 to a domestic industry for which increased

10 imports are a substantial cause or threat

11 thereof, including remedies under sections

12 201 and 406 of the Trade Act of 1974,

13 and textile import restrictions (including

14 those imposed under section 204 of the

15 Agricultural Act of 1956 (7 U.S.C. 1784));

16 (iii) any measure imposed to restrict

17 imports of agricultural commodities to pro18 tect food safety or to ensure the orderly

19 marketing of commodities in the United

20 States, including actions taken under sec21 tion 22 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act

22 (7 U.S.C. 624);

23 (iv) any measure imposed to restrict

24 imports of any other products or services
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1 in order to protect domestic health or safe2 ty;

3 (v) any measure authorized by, or im4 posed under, a multilateral or bilateral

5 trade agreement to which the United

6 States is a party, including the Uruguay

7 Round Agreements, the North American

8 Free Trade Agreement, the United States9 Israel Free Trade Agreement, and the

10 United States-Canada Free Trade Agree11 ment;

12 (vi) any prohibition or restriction on

13 the sale, export, lease, or other transfer of

14 any defense article, defense service, or de15 sign and construction service under the

16 Arms Export Control Act, or on any fi17 nancing provided under that Act;

18 (vii) any measure taken pursuant to

19 section 307 of the Chemical and Biological

20 Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination

21 Act of 1991 (22 U.S.C. 5605); or

22 (viii) any measure taken to enforce a

23 Federal criminal law.

24 (2) MANDATED BY STATUTE.—The term ‘‘man25 dated by statute’’ means—
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1 (A) a provision of statute that mandates

2 action; and

3 (B) does not include the grant of authority

4 to any official of the executive branch of Gov5 ernment that may be exercised in the discretion

6 of the official, except that this exclusion does

7 not apply to any provision of law that is subject

8 to—

9 (i) a delay in the imposition of the

10 sanction; or

11 (ii) a waiver that may only be exer12 cised on grounds more restrictive than a

13 determination that it is in the important

14 national interests of the United States to

15 do so.

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