I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2589 
To prohibit certain activities in support of the Arab League boycott of 
Israel, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 19, 2011 
Mr. BERMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To prohibit certain activities in support of the Arab League 
boycott of Israel, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Antiboycott Act’’. 
SEC. 2. ANTIBOYCOTT PROVISIONS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 
(1) the Arab League boycott of Israel, and the 
secondary boycott of United States firms that have 
commercial ties with Israel, are an impediment to 
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investment, trade, economic development, and peace 
in the Middle East and North Africa; 
(2) it is in the common interest of the people 
of Israel and the Arab states that the Arab League 
boycott be terminated, that the Central Office for 
the Boycott of Israel be closed, and that Arab 
League states normalize relations with their neigh-
bor Israel; and 
(3) the President, the Secretary of State, and 
the Secretary of Commerce should continue to vigor-
ously oppose the Arab League boycott of Israel and 
use the authorities enacted into law by Congress to 
take concrete steps to seek an end to the Arab 
League boycott. 
(b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States— 
(1) to oppose restrictive trade practices or boy-
cotts fostered or imposed by foreign countries 
against other countries friendly to the United States 
or against any United States person; 
(2) to encourage and, in specified cases, require 
United States persons engaged in the export of 
goods or technology or other information to refuse to 
take actions, including furnishing information or en-
tering into or implementing agreements, which have 
the effect of furthering or supporting the restrictive 
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trade practices or boycotts fostered or imposed by 
any foreign country against a country friendly to the 
United States or against any United States person; 
and 
(3) to foster international cooperation and the 
development of international rules and institutions 
to assure reasonable access to world supplies. 
(c) PROHIBITIONS AND EXCEPTIONS.— 
(1) PROHIBITIONS.—In order to carry out the 
purposes set forth in subsection (b), the Secretary of 
Commerce (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) shall issue regulations prohibiting any 
United States person, with respect to that person’s 
activities in the interstate or foreign commerce of 
the United States, from taking or knowingly agree-
ing to take any of the following actions with intent 
to comply with, further, or support any boycott fos-
tered or imposed by a foreign country against a 
country that is friendly to the United States and is 
not itself the object of any form of boycott pursuant 
to United States law or regulation: 
(A) Refusing, or requiring any other per-
son to refuse, to do business with or in the boy-
cotted country, with any business concern orga-
nized under the laws of the boycotted country, 
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with any national or resident of the boycotted 
country, or with any other person, pursuant to 
an agreement with, or requirement of, or a re-
quest from or on behalf of the boycotting coun-
try. The mere absence of a business relationship 
with or in the boycotted country with any busi-
ness concern organized under the laws of the 
boycotted country, with any national or resident 
of the boycotted country, or with any other per-
son, does not indicate the existence of the in-
tent required to establish a violation of regula-
tions issued to carry out this subparagraph. 
(B) Refusing, or requiring any other per-
son to refuse, to employ or otherwise discrimi-
nate against any United States person on the 
basis of the race, religion, sex, or national ori-
gin of that person or of any owner, officer, di-
rector, or employee of such person. 
(C) Furnishing information with respect to 
the race, religion, sex, or national origin of any 
United States person or of any owner, officer, 
director, or employee of such person. 
(D) Furnishing information about whether 
any person has, has had, or proposes to have 
any business relationship (including a relation-
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ship by way of sale, purchase, legal or commer-
cial representation, shipping or other transport, 
insurance, investment, or supply) with or in the 
boycotted country, with any business concern 
organized under the laws of the boycotted coun-
try, with any national or resident of the boy-
cotted country, or with any other person which 
is known or believed to be restricted from hav-
ing any business relationship with or in the boy-
cotting country. Nothing in this subparagraph 
shall prohibit the furnishing of normal business 
information in a commercial context as defined 
by the Secretary. 
(E) Furnishing information about whether 
any person is a member of, has made a con-
tribution to, or is otherwise associated with or 
involved in the activities of any charitable or 
fraternal organization that supports the boy-
cotted country. 
(F) Paying, honoring, confirming, or other-
wise implementing a letter of credit that con-
tains any condition or requirement the compli-
ance with which is prohibited by regulations 
issued pursuant to this paragraph, and no 
United States person shall, as a result of the 
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application of this paragraph, be obligated to 
pay or otherwise honor or implement such letter 
of credit. 
(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Regulations issued pursuant 
to paragraph (1) may provide exceptions for— 
(A) compliance, or agreement to comply, 
with requirements— 
(i) prohibiting the import of items 
from the boycotted country or items pro-
duced or provided, by any business concern 
organized under the laws of the boycotted 
country or by nationals or residents of the 
boycotted country; or 
(ii) prohibiting the shipment of items 
to the boycotting country on a carrier of 
the boycotted country or by a route other 
than that prescribed by the boycotting 
country or the recipient of the shipment; 
(B) compliance, or agreement to comply, 
with import and shipping document require-
ments with respect to the country of origin, the 
name of the carrier and route of shipment, the 
name of the supplier of the shipment, or the 
name of the provider of other services, except 
that, for purposes of applying any exception 
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under this subparagraph, no information know-
ingly furnished or conveyed in response to such 
requirements may be stated in negative, black-
listing, or similar exclusionary terms, other 
than with respect to carriers or route of ship-
ment as may be permitted by such regulations 
in order to comply with precautionary require-
ments protecting against war risks and confis-
cation; 
(C) compliance, or agreement to comply, in 
the normal course of business with the unilat-
eral and specific selection by a boycotting coun-
try, or a national or resident thereof, of car-
riers, insurers, suppliers of services to be per-
formed within the boycotting country, or spe-
cific items which, in the normal course of busi-
ness, are identifiable by source when imported 
into the boycotting country; 
(D) compliance, or agreement to comply, 
with export requirements of the boycotting 
country relating to shipment or transshipment 
of exports to the boycotted country, to any busi-
ness concern of or organized under the laws of 
the boycotted country, or to any national or 
resident of the boycotted country; 
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(E) compliance by an individual, or agree-
ment by an individual to comply, with the immi-
gration or passport requirements of any country 
with respect to such individual or any member 
of such individual’s family or with requests for 
information regarding requirements of employ-
ment of such individual within the boycotting 
country; and 
(F) compliance by a United States person 
resident in a foreign country, or agreement by 
such a person to comply, with the laws of the 
country with respect to the person’s activities 
exclusively therein, and such regulations may 
contain exceptions for such resident complying 
with the laws or regulations of the foreign coun-
try governing imports into such country of 
trademarked, trade-named, or similarly specifi-
cally identifiable products, or components of 
products for such person’s own use, including 
the performance of contractual services within 
that country. 
(3) LIMITATION ON EXCEPTIONS.—Regulations 
issued pursuant to paragraphs (2)(C) and (2)(F) 
shall not provide exceptions from paragraphs (1)(B) 
and (1)(C). 
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(4) ANTITRUST AND CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS NOT 
AFFECTED.—Nothing in this subsection may be con-
strued to supersede or limit the operation of the 
antitrust or civil rights laws of the United States. 
(5) EVASION.—This section applies to any 
transaction or activity undertaken by or through a 
United States person or any other person with in-
tent to evade the provisions of this section or the 
regulations issued pursuant to this subsection. The 
regulations issued pursuant to this section shall ex-
pressly provide that the exceptions set forth in para-
graph (2) do not permit activities or agreements (ex-
pressed or implied by a course of conduct, including 
a pattern of responses) otherwise prohibited, which 
are not within the intent of such exceptions. 
(d) REPORTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Regulations issued under 
this section shall require that any United States per-
son receiving a request to furnish information, enter 
into or implement an agreement, or take any other 
action referred to in subsection (c) shall report that 
request to the Secretary, together with any other in-
formation concerning the request that the Secretary 
determines appropriate. The person shall also sub-
mit to the Secretary a statement regarding whether 
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the person intends to comply, and whether the per-
son has complied, with the request. 
(2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF REPORTS.—Any 
report filed pursuant to this subsection shall be 
made available promptly for public inspection and 
copying, except that information regarding the quan-
tity, description, and value of any item to which 
such report relates may be kept confidential if the 
Secretary determines that disclosure of that infor-
mation would place the United States person in-
volved at a competitive disadvantage. 
(3) SUMMARIES TO SECRETARY OF STATE.— 
The Secretary shall periodically transmit summaries 
of the information contained in the reports filed pur-
suant to this subsection to the Secretary of State for 
such action as the Secretary of State, in consultation 
with the Secretary, considers appropriate to carry 
out the purposes set forth in subsection (b). 
(e) PREEMPTION.—The provisions of this section and 
the regulations issued under this section shall preempt any 
law, rule, or regulation that— 
(1) is a law, rule, or regulation of any of the 
several States or the District of Columbia, or any of 
the territories or possessions of the United States, 
or of any governmental subdivision thereof; and 
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(2) pertains to participation in, compliance 
with, implementation of, or the furnishing of infor-
mation regarding restrictive trade practices or boy-
cotts fostered or imposed by foreign countries 
against other countries. 
(f) PENALTIES.— 
(1) UNLAWFUL ACTS.—It shall be unlawful for 
a person to violate, attempt to violate, conspire to 
violate, or cause a violation of this section or of any 
regulation or order issued under this section. 
(2) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—A person who, with 
knowledge or intent, commits, attempts to commit, 
or conspires to commit, or aids or abets in the com-
mission of, an unlawful act described in subsection 
(c) shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than 
$1,000,000, or, if a natural person, be imprisoned 
for not more than 20 years, or both. 
(3) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 
(A) AUTHORITY.—The President may im-
pose the following civil penalties on a person for 
each violation by that person of this section or 
any regulation or order issued under this sec-
tion, for each violation: 
(i) A fine of not more than $250,000. 
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(ii) A prohibition on the person’s abil-
ity to export any goods, technology, or 
services, whether or not a license has been 
issued previously to authorize such an ex-
port. 
(B) 
PROCEDURES.—Any 
civil 
penalty 
under this subsection may be imposed only 
after notice and opportunity for an agency 
hearing on the record in accordance with sec-
tions 554 through 557 of title 5, United States 
Code, and shall be subject to judicial review in 
accordance with chapter 7 of such title. 
(C) STANDARDS
FOR
LEVELS
OF
CIVIL 
PENALTY.—The President may by regulation 
provide standards for establishing levels of civil 
penalty under this paragraph based upon the 
seriousness of the violation, the culpability of 
the violator, and the violator’s record of co-
operation with the Government in disclosing the 
violation. 
(g) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act and annually there-
after, the President shall report to the Congress on the 
implementation and enforcement of this section and on ad-
ditional steps taken by the United States to bring about 
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the termination of the Arab League boycott of Israel and 
to encourage Arab League states to normalize their rela-
tions with Israel. 
(h) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘United 
States person’’— 
(1) means— 
(A) any United States resident or national; 
(B) any domestic concern (including any 
permanent domestic establishment of any for-
eign concern); and 
(C) any foreign subsidiary or affiliate (in-
cluding any permanent foreign establishment) 
of any domestic concern that is controlled in 
fact by such domestic concern, as determined 
under regulations of the President; but 
(2) does not include an individual resident out-
side the United States who is employed by a person 
other than a person described in paragraph (1). 
Æ 
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