I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3406
To require the President to report annually to the Congress on the effects
of the imposition of unilateral economic sanctions by the United States.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NOVEMBER 16, 1999
Mr. SAWYER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committees on
Ways and Means, and Banking and Financial Services, for a period to
be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
A BILL
To require the President to report annually to the Congress
on the effects of the imposition of unilateral economic
sanctions by the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) in the face of a more politically complicated
and commercially integrated world in the post-cold
war era, the unilateral economic sanctions policy of
the United States must become a more sophisticated
tool in order to better serve the national interests of
the United States;
(2) Members of Congress need more detailed
and unbiased information that can be compared on
a yearly basis in order to evaluate accurately the
costs and benefits of unilateral economic sanctions;
and
(3) a comprehensive annual report to pertinent
congressional committees from the executive branch
on sanctions policy will allow the United States Gov-
ernment to view economic sanctions in a more effec-
tive, targeted, and flexible manner and better ana-
lyze the success of meeting foreign policy objectives.
SEC. 2. ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS BY THE PRESI-
DENT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The President, in consultation
with the Secretaries of State, Commerce, Defense, Agri-
culture, Energy, and Transportation, and the United
States Trade Representative, shall, by not later than De-
cember 31 of each year, report to all committees of Con-
gress with jurisdiction affected by United States policies
on unilateral economic sanctions on the costs and benefits
within the United States, and, to the extent possible, the
economic implications for the targeted foreign countries
or entities concerned, of the imposition of unilateral eco-
nomic sanctions by the United States during the preceding
calendar year.
(b) DETAILS OF REPORT.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Each report under sub-
section (a) shall set forth the costs and benefits of
unilateral economic sanctions to specific sectors of
the United States economy, including the services
sector, expressed in terms of economic indicators.
Among other indicators, the report shall compare
levels of imports and exports of domestic products
and services with those of internationally competitive
products and services. The analyses in the reports
under subsection (a) shall be presented in a con-
sistent fashion so as to ensure an accurate compari-
son of the costs and effects of unilateral economic
sanctions from year to year. Each report shall, as
well as stating current effects, project future effects
of the unilateral economic sanctions at issue.
(2) ECONOMIC EFFECTS ON TARGETED COUN-
TRIES OR ENTITIES.—To the extent possible, each
report shall address the economic effects of unilat-
eral economic sanctions on the countries and entities
on which the sanctions are imposed, and the extent
to which the foreign policy goals of the United
States have been achieved by the sanctions. The re-
port shall also project the economic effects of the
continued application of unilateral economic sanc-
tions on each such country or entity and how this
will further achieve the foreign policy goals of the
United States.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act:
(1) UNILATERAL ECONOMIC SANCTION.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘‘unilateral
economic sanction’’ means any prohibition, re-
striction, or condition on economic activity, in-
cluding economic assistance, with respect to a
foreign country or foreign entity that is im-
posed by the United States for reasons of for-
eign policy or national security, including any of
the measures described in subparagraph (B),
except in a case in which the United States im-
poses the measure pursuant to a multilateral
regime and the other members of that regime
have agreed to impose substantially equivalent
measures.
(B) PARTICULAR MEASURES.—The meas-
ures referred to in subparagraph (A) are the
following:
(i) The suspension, restriction, or pro-
hibition of exports or imports of any prod-
uct, technology, or service to or from a for-
eign country or entity.
(ii) The suspension of, or any restric-
tion or prohibition on, financial trans-
actions with a foreign country or entity.
(iii) The suspension of, or any restric-
tion or prohibition on, direct or indirect in-
vestment in or from a foreign country or
entity.
(iv) The imposition of increased tar-
iffs on, or other restrictions on imports of,
products of a foreign country or entity, in-
cluding the denial, revocation, or condi-
tioning of nondiscriminatory trade treat-
ment (normal trade relations).
(v) The suspension of, or any restric-
tion or prohibition on—
(I) the authority of the Export-
Import Bank of the United States to
give approval to the issuance of any
guarantee, insurance, or extension of
credit in connection with the export of
other utilization of funds to, for, or in a
foreign country or particular foreign entity.
(viii) A measure imposing any restric-
tion or condition on economic activity on
any foreign government or entity on the
grounds that such government or entity
does business in or with a foreign country.
(ix) A measure imposing any restric-
tion or condition on economic activity on
any person that is a national of a foreign
country, or on any government or other en-
tity of a foreign country, on the grounds
that the government of that country has
not taken measures in cooperation with, or
similar to, sanctions imposed by the
United States on a third country.
(x) The suspension of, or any restric-
tion or prohibition on, travel rights or air
transportation to or from a foreign coun-
try.
(xi) Any restriction on the filing or
maintenance in a foreign country of any
proprietary interest in intellectual property
rights (including patents, copyrights, and
trademarks), including payment of patent
maintenance fees.
(C) MULTILATERAL REGIME.—As used in
this paragraph, the term ‘‘multilateral regime’’
means an agreement, arrangement, or obliga-
tion under which the United States cooperates
with other countries in restricting commerce for
reasons of foreign policy or national security,
including—
(i) obligations under resolutions of the
United Nations;
(ii) nonproliferation and export con-
trol arrangements, such as the Australia
Group, the Nuclear Supplier’s Group, the
Missile Technology Control Regime, and
the Wassenaar Arrangement;
(iii) treaty obligations, such as under
the Chemical Weapons Convention, the
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons, and the Biological Weapons Con-
vention; and
(iv) agreements concerning protection
of the environment, such as the Inter-
national Convention for the Conservation
of Atlantic Tunas, the Declaration of Pan-
ama referred to in section 2(a)(1) of the
International Dolphin Conservation Act
(16 U.S.C. 1361 note), the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Spe-
cies, the Montreal Protocol on Substances
that Deplete the Ozone Layer, and the
Basel Convention on the Control of
Transboundary Movements of Hazardous
Wastes.
(D) ECONOMIC
ASSISTANCE.—The term
‘‘economic assistance’’ means—
(i) any assistance under part I or
chapter 2, 4, 5, or 8 of part II of the For-
eign Assistance Act of 1961 (including
programs under title IV of chapter 2, re-
lating to the Overseas Private Investment
Corporation), any benefits under part IV
of that Act (relating to the Enterprise for
the Americas Initiative), or any benefits
under part V of that Act, relating to trop-
ical forest preservation;
(ii) the provision of agricultural com-
modities, or other assistance or benefits,
under the Agricultural Trade Development
and Assistance Act of 1954, including the
Enterprise for the Americas Initiative; and
(iii) any assistance under the FREE-
DOM Support Act or the Support for East
European Democracy (SEED) Act of
1989.
(E) FINANCIAL TRANSACTION.—As used in
this paragraph, the term ‘‘financial trans-
action’’ has the meaning given that term in sec-
tion 1956(c)(4) of title 18, United States Code.
(F) INVESTMENT.—As used in this para-
graph, the term ‘‘investment’’ means any con-
tribution or commitment of funds, commodities,
services, patents, or other forms of intellectual
property, processes, or techniques, including—
(i) a loan or loans;
(ii) the purchase of a share of owner-
ship;
(iii) participation in royalties, earn-
ings, or profits; and
(iv) the furnishing or commodities or
services pursuant to a lease or other con-
tract.
(G) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘unilateral
economic sanction’’ does not include—
(i) any measure imposed to remedy
unfair trade practices or to enforce United
States rights under a trade agreement, in-
cluding under section 337 of the Tariff Act
of 1930, title VII of that Act, title III of
the Trade Act of 1974, sections 1374,
1376, and 1377 of the Omnibus Trade and
Competitiveness Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C.
3103 and 3106), and section 3 of the Act
of March 3, 1933 (41 U.S.C. 10b–1);
(ii) any measure imposed to remedy
market disruption or to respond to injury
to a domestic industry for which increased
imports are a substantial cause or threat
thereof, including remedies under sections
201 and 406 of the Trade Act of 1974,
and textile import restrictions (including
those imposed under section 204 of the
Agricultural Act of 1956 (7 U.S.C. 1784));
(iii) any measure imposed to restrict
imports of agricultural commodities to pro-
tect food safety or to ensure the orderly
marketing of commodities in the United
States, including actions taken under sec-
tion 22 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act
(7 U.S.C. 624);
(iv) any measure imposed to restrict
imports of any other products in order to
protect domestic health or safety; and
(v) any measure authorized by, or im-
posed under, a multilateral or bilateral
trade agreement to which the United
States is a signatory, including the Uru-
guay Round Agreements, the North Amer-
ican Free Trade Agreement, the United
States-Israel Free Trade Agreement, and
the United States-Canada Free Trade
Agreement.
(2) AGRICULTURAL
COMMODITY.—The term
‘‘agricultural commodity’’ has the meaning given
that term in section 102(1) of the Agricultural
Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5602(1)).
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