Title: North Korean Enablers Accountability Act of 2017
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
North Korean Enablers Accountability Act of 2017
This bill directs the President to: (1) impose property-blocking sanctions against the North Korean government, business entities that trade with North Korea, including specified Chinese entities, and affiliated persons or entities; (2) prohibit the opening, and strictly control the maintaining in the United States, of correspondent or payable-through accounts by a foreign financial institution that assisted in the importation, sale, or transfer of North Korean goods or services; and (3) impose specified sanctions against a person that imports, purchases, or transfers goods or services from the North Korean government or from such entities or affiliates.
The President may waive the application of these sanctions for humanitarian or national security purposes.
The bill prohibits the U.S. entry of goods mined, produced, or manufactured by North Korean labor, and directs the President to apply property-blocking sanctions against a person or entity that mines, produces, or manufactures such prohibited goods. Such prohibition shall not apply if U.S. Customs and Border Protection finds that the goods were not produced with trafficked, convict, forced, or indentured labor.
The Securities and Exchange Commission shall require issuers of stock and other securities to disclose annually any investments in North Korea and activities potentially sanctionable under this bill.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1562 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1562

 To impose sanctions with respect to the Government of the Democratic 
 People's Republic of Korea and any enablers of the activities of that 
                  Government, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 13, 2017

 Mr. Gardner (for himself, Mr. Markey, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Portman, Mr. 
 Rubio, and Mr. Cotton) introduced the following bill; which was read 
  twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To impose sanctions with respect to the Government of the Democratic 
 People's Republic of Korea and any enablers of the activities of that 
                  Government, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``North Korean Enablers Accountability 
Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Government of the Democratic People's Republic of 
        Korea has flagrantly defied the international community by 
        illicitly developing its nuclear and ballistic missile 
        programs, in violation of United Nations Security Council 
        Resolutions 1718 (2006), 1874 (2009), 2087 (2013), 2094 (2013), 
        2270 (2016), and 2321 (2016).
            (2) The Government of the Democratic People's Republic of 
        Korea engages in gross human rights abuses against its own 
        people and citizens of other countries, including the United 
        States and Japan.
            (3) The United States and its partners are committed to 
        pursuing a peaceful denuclearization of the Democratic People's 
        Republic of Korea through a policy of maximum pressure and 
        engagement.

SEC. 3. SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DEMOCRATIC 
              PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA AND ITS ENABLERS.

    (a) Blocking of Property.--On and after the date that is 90 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall block 
and prohibit all transactions in all property and interests in property 
of a person described in subsection (d) if such property and interests 
in property are in the United States, come within the United States, or 
are or come within the possession or control of a United States person.
    (b) Facilitation of Certain Transactions.--The President shall 
prohibit the opening, and prohibit or impose strict conditions on the 
maintaining, in the United States of a correspondent account or a 
payable-through account by a foreign financial institution that the 
President determines has knowingly, on or after the date that is 90 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, conducted or 
facilitated a significant transaction with respect to the importation, 
sale, or transfer of goods or services from the Democratic People's 
Republic of Korea on behalf of a person described in subsection (d).
    (c) Importation, Sale, or Transfer of Goods and Services.--The 
President shall impose sanctions pursuant to the International 
Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) with respect to 
a person if the President determines that the person knowingly, on or 
after the date that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, imports, purchases, or transfers goods or services from a person 
described in subsection (d).
    (d) Persons Described.--A person described in this subsection is 
any of the following:
            (1) The Government of the Democratic People's Republic of 
        Korea or any political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality 
        of that Government.
            (2) Any person owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, 
        by that Government.
            (3) Any person acting or purporting to act, directly or 
        indirectly, for or on behalf of that Government.
            (4) The following entities:
                    (A) Dandong Zhicheng Metallic Material.
                    (B) Shandong International Trade co Ltd Hongjian.
                    (C) Xiamen Xiang Yu Shares Co.
                    (D) Sdic Jingmin Putian Ltd.
                    (E) Hangzhou Pei Amoy Trading company.
                    (F) Hunchun xin Times.
                    (G) Rizhao Steel Holding.
                    (H) Shandong Yun Hill Mines.
                    (I) China Dawn Garmet (Dalian).
                    (J) Dandong Hao Du Trading co. ltd.
            (5) Any person affiliated with an entity described in 
        paragraph (4).
            (6) Any person affiliated with an entity identified by the 
        Secretary of the Treasury as a major importer of goods and 
        services from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
    (e) Exemptions.--The following activities are exempt from sanctions 
under this section:
            (1) Activities subject to the reporting requirements under 
        title V of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et 
        seq.).
            (2) Authorized intelligence activities of the United 
        States.
            (3) Activities necessary to comply with United States 
        obligations under the Agreement between the United Nations and 
        the United States of America regarding the Headquarters of the 
        United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and 
        entered into force November 21, 1947, the Convention on 
        Consular Relations, done at Vienna April 24, 1963, and entered 
        into force March 19, 1967, or any other international 
        agreement.
            (4) Activities incidental to the POW/MIA accounting mission 
        in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, including 
        activities by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and other 
        governmental or nongovernmental organizations tasked with 
        identifying or recovering the remains of members of the United 
        States Armed Forces in the Democratic People's Republic of 
        Korea.
    (f) Waivers.--
            (1) In general.--The President may waive the application of 
        sanctions under this section with respect to a person if the 
        President--
                    (A) determines that the waiver is in the national 
                security interest of the United States; and
                    (B) submits to the appropriate congressional 
                committees a report on the determination and the 
                reasons for the determination.
            (2) Humanitarian waiver.--
                    (A) In general.--The President may waive, for 
                renewable periods of not less than 30 days and not more 
                than one year, the application of sanctions under this 
                section if the President submits to the appropriate 
                congressional committees a written determination that 
                the waiver is necessary for humanitarian assistance or 
                to carry out the humanitarian purposes set forth in 
                section 4 of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 
                (22 U.S.C. 7802).
                    (B) Content of written determination.--A written 
                determination submitted under subparagraph (A) with 
                respect to a waiver shall include a description of all 
                notification and accountability controls that have been 
                employed in order to ensure that the activities covered 
                by the waiver are humanitarian assistance or are 
                carried out for the purposes set forth in section 4 of 
                the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 
                7802) and do not entail any activities in North Korea 
                or dealings with the Government of North Korea not 
                reasonably related to humanitarian assistance or those 
                purposes.
                    (C) Clarification of permitted activities.--An 
                internationally recognized humanitarian organization 
                shall not be subject to sanctions under this section 
                for--
                            (i) engaging in a financial transaction 
                        relating to humanitarian assistance or for 
                        humanitarian purposes pursuant to a waiver 
                        issued under subparagraph (A);
                            (ii) transporting goods or services that 
                        are necessary to carry out operations relating 
                        to humanitarian assistance or humanitarian 
                        purposes pursuant to such a waiver; or
                            (iii) having merely incidental contact, in 
                        the course of providing humanitarian assistance 
                        or aid for humanitarian purposes pursuant to 
                        such a waiver, with individuals who are under 
                        the control of a foreign person subject to 
                        sanctions under this section.
    (g) Rule of Construction.--A person described in subsection (d) is 
subject to sanctions under this section without regard to whether the 
name of the person is published in the Federal Register or incorporated 
into the list of specially designated nationals and blocked persons 
maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of 
the Treasury.
    (h) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
                Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the 
                Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
                Committee on Financial Services of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (2) Correspondent account; payable-through account.--The 
        terms ``correspondent account'' and ``payable-through account'' 
        have the meanings given those terms in section 5318A of title 
        31, United States Code.
            (3) Foreign financial institution.--The term ``foreign 
        financial institution'' has the meaning given that term in 
        section 561.308 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations (or 
        any corresponding similar regulation or ruling).
            (4) Humanitarian assistance.--The term ``humanitarian 
        assistance'' means assistance to meet humanitarian needs, 
        including needs for food, medicine, medical supplies, clothing, 
        and shelter.
            (5) Knowingly.--The term ``knowingly'', with respect to 
        conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means that a person has 
        actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct, the 
        circumstance, or the result.
            (6) United states person.--The term ``United States 
        person'' means--
                    (A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully 
                admitted for permanent residence to the United States; 
                and
                    (B) an entity organized under the laws of the 
                United States or any jurisdiction within the United 
                States, including a foreign branch of such an entity.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON IMPORT OF AND SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO GOODS 
              MADE WITH NORTH KOREAN LABOR.

    (a) Prohibition on Import of Goods Made With North Korean Labor.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), any 
        significant goods, wares, articles, or merchandise mined, 
        produced, or manufactured wholly or in part by the labor of 
        nationals or citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of 
        Korea shall be deemed to be mined, produced, or manufactured, 
        as the case may be, by convict labor, forced labor, or 
        indentured labor under penal sanctions for purposes of section 
        307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307) and shall not be 
        entitled to entry at any of the ports of the United States.
            (2) Exception.--The prohibition under paragraph (1) shall 
        not apply to goods, wares, articles, or merchandise if the 
        Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection finds, by 
        clear and convincing evidence, that the goods, wares, articles, 
        or merchandise were not produced with trafficked labor, convict 
        labor, forced labor, or indentured labor under penal sanctions.
    (b) Sanctions With Respect to Persons That Use North Korean 
Labor.--The President shall, pursuant to the International Emergency 
Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), block and prohibit all 
transactions in property and interests in property of a person that the 
President determines mines, produces, or manufactures goods, wares, 
articles, or merchandise prohibited from entry into the United States 
under subsection (a), if such property and interests in property are in 
the United States, come within the United States, or are or come within 
the possession or control of a United States person.
    (c) Trafficked Labor Defined.--In this section, the term 
``trafficked labor'' means labor or services procured through the 
recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a 
person through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of 
subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

SEC. 5. MANDATORY DISCLOSURE OF INVESTMENTS IN THE DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S 
              REPUBLIC OF KOREA AND OTHER SANCTIONABLE ACTIVITIES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 270 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission shall 
prescribe regulations requiring each issuer to disclose annually, 
beginning with the issuer's first fiscal year that begins after the 
date on which those regulations are prescribed--
            (1) any investments in the Democratic People's Republic of 
        Korea; and
            (2) any other activities that may be subject to sanctions 
        under section 3 or 4.
    (b) Issuer Defined.--In this section, the term ``issuer'' has the 
meaning given that term in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act 
of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)).
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