[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1193 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1193

 To require that the United States Government hold certain discussions 
  and report to the Congress with respect to the secondary boycott of 
                       Israel by Arab countries.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 9, 1995

 Mr. Schumer introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committee 
 on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require that the United States Government hold certain discussions 
  and report to the Congress with respect to the secondary boycott of 
                       Israel by Arab countries.

    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 ``Procompetitiveness and Antiboycott 
Act of 1995''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) the boycott of Israel by Arab countries has distorted 
        international trade and investment;
            (2) the secondary boycott of Israel by Arab countries has 
        put at a competitive disadvantage those United States business 
        enterprises that refuse to comply with the Arab boycott of 
        Israel;
            (3) the secondary boycott has stifled foreign investment in 
        Israel;
            (4) business enterprises that comply with the boycott of 
        Israel by Arab countries contribute to the distortion of 
        international commerce and investment; and
            (5) it is in the interest of all countries to have free 
        trade and a liberal climate for investment.

SEC. 3. OECD REPORT.

    (a) Discussions at the OECD.--The United States Ambassador to the 
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (hereafter in 
this Act referred to as ``OECD'') shall enter into discussions with 
representatives from other countries that are members of OECD 
concerning--
            (1) the extent to which business enterprises, both public 
        and private, comply with the boycott of Israel by Arab 
        countries;
            (2) the effectiveness, with respect to the secondary 
        boycott, of antiboycott laws of those countries that currently 
        have or have had such laws;
            (3) the extent to which the secondary boycott has skewed 
        global trade and investment, as well as regional trade and 
        investment in the Middle East;
            (4) the extent to which business enterprises not complying 
        with the boycott of Israel by Arab countries are placed at a 
        competitive disadvantage as a result of the secondary boycott;
            (5) the extent to which the secondary boycott contradicts 
        OECD trade and investment policy; and
            (6) the development of a set of guidelines, comparable to 
        the prohibitions set forth in section 8(a) of the Export 
        Administration Act of 1979 on actions taken to comply with, 
        further, or support a boycott imposed by a foreign country, 
        that countries that are members of OECD can agree on as a way 
        to eliminate compliance with the boycott of Israel by Arab 
        countries.
    (b) Report to Congress.--The United States Ambassador to the OECD 
shall submit to the Congress, not later than 6 months after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, a report on the progress of the discussions 
described in subsection (a).

SEC. 4. WTO REPORT.

    (a) In General.--The United States Trade Representative shall enter 
into discussions with representatives from countries that are members 
and prospective members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to 
determine the extent to which--
            (1) the secondary boycott has distorted trade;
            (2) members and prospective members of the WTO encourage 
        actions, including the furnishing of information or entering 
        into implementing agreements, which have the effect of 
        furthering or supporting the boycott of Israel by Arab 
        countries;
            (3) the WTO can and should work to eliminate the secondary 
        boycott; and
            (4) provisions of the multilateral trade agreements, 
        specifically Articles I and XI of the GATT 1994, can be used to 
        eliminate compliance with the boycott of Israel by Arab 
        countries and what additional measures, including penalties, 
        can be applied to countries imposing and complying with the 
        boycott of Israel by Arab countries.
    (b) Report to Congress.--The United States Trade Representative 
shall submit to the Congress, not later than 6 months after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, a report on the discussions described in 
subsection (a).
    (c) Definitions.--As used in this section, the terms ``multilateral 
trade agreements'' and ``GATT 1994'' have the meanings given those 
terms in section 2 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (Public Law 103-
465).

SEC. 5. PRESIDENTIAL REPORT.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the President shall submit a report to the Congress on--
            (1) what progress has been made in terminating the 
        secondary boycott, and
            (2) what progress has been made in terminating the 
        compliance by countries other than Arab countries with the 
        boycott of Israel by Arab countries.

SEC. 6. BOYCOTT REPORT.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of State 
and the Secretary of the Treasury, shall submit to the Congress a 
report on those OECD member countries that encourage or fail to 
discourage compliance with the boycott of Israel by Arab countries. 
Such report shall include--
            (1) a list of those OECD member countries which encourage 
        or fail to discourage compliance with the boycott of Israel by 
        Arab countries; and
            (2) for each country included in the list under paragraph 
        (1), a description of the policies, regulations, practices, and 
        laws of the government of that country which encourage or fail 
        to discourage compliance with the boycott of Israel by Arab 
        countries.

SEC. 7. OFFICE OF ANTIBOYCOTT COMPLIANCE.

    It is the sense of the Congress that the Office of Antiboycott 
Compliance of the Department of Commerce should continue exercising its 
functions for at least 2 years after the Arab League formally 
renounces--
            (1) the boycott of Israel by Arab countries,
            (2) the secondary boycott, and
            (3) any requirement that a business enterprise comply with 
        the boycott of Israel by Arab countries,
in order to ensure that the countries of the Arab League are complying 
with such renunciations.

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``secondary boycott'' means the boycott by the 
        governments of Arab countries of--
                    (A) business enterprises which--
                            (i) provide goods or services to Israeli 
                        nationals or business enterprises organized 
                        under the laws of Israel or owned or controlled 
                        by Israeli nationals, or
                            (ii) invest in Israel or business 
                        enterprises described in clause (i);
                    (B) ships that call at Israeli ports; or
                    (C) goods and services of people or entities which 
                support the State of Israel; and
            (2) a business enterprise complies with the boycott of 
        Israel by Arab countries when, as a condition of doing business 
        directly or indirectly within a country or with the government 
        of, a national of, or a business enterprise organized under the 
        laws of, a country, that business enterprise--
                    (A) agrees to refrain from doing business with or 
                in Israel or with the government or nationals of Israel 
                or business enterprises organized under the laws of 
                Israel or owned or controlled by Israeli nationals; or
                    (B) agrees to furnish information about its past, 
                present, or future business relationships with Israel 
                or with the government or nationals of Israel or 
                business enterprises described in subparagraph (A).
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