[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2589 Introduced in House (IH)]

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 Representatives 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 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 
        neighbor Israel; and
            (3) the President, the Secretary of State, and the 
        Secretary of Commerce should continue to vigorously 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 boycotts 
        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 entering into or implementing 
        agreements, which have the effect of furthering or supporting 
        the restrictive 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 ``Secretary'') 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 agreeing to take 
        any of the following actions with intent to comply with, 
        further, or support any boycott fostered 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 person to 
                refuse, to do business with or in the boycotted 
                country, with any business concern organized under the 
                laws of the boycotted country, with any national or 
                resident of the boycotted country, or with any other 
                person, pursuant to an agreement with, or requirement 
                of, or a request from or on behalf of the boycotting 
                country. The mere absence of a business relationship 
                with or in the boycotted country with any business 
                concern organized under the laws of the boycotted 
                country, with any national or resident of the boycotted 
                country, or with any other person, does not indicate 
                the existence of the intent required to establish a 
                violation of regulations issued to carry out this 
                subparagraph.
                    (B) Refusing, or requiring any other person to 
                refuse, to employ or otherwise discriminate against any 
                United States person on the basis of the race, 
                religion, sex, or national origin of that person or of 
                any owner, officer, director, 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 relationship by way of sale, 
                purchase, legal or commercial 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 
                country, with any national or resident of the boycotted 
                country, or with any other person which is known or 
                believed to be restricted from having any business 
                relationship with or in the boycotting 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 contribution to, or is 
                otherwise associated with or involved in the activities 
                of any charitable or fraternal organization that 
                supports the boycotted country.
                    (F) Paying, honoring, confirming, or otherwise 
                implementing a letter of credit that contains any 
                condition or requirement the compliance with which is 
                prohibited by regulations issued pursuant to this 
                paragraph, and no United States person shall, as a 
                result of the 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 produced 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 requirements 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 under this 
                subparagraph, no information knowingly furnished or 
                conveyed in response to such requirements may be stated 
                in negative, blacklisting, or similar exclusionary 
                terms, other than with respect to carriers or route of 
                shipment as may be permitted by such regulations in 
                order to comply with precautionary requirements 
                protecting against war risks and confiscation;
                    (C) compliance, or agreement to comply, in the 
                normal course of business with the unilateral and 
                specific selection by a boycotting country, or a 
                national or resident thereof, of carriers, insurers, 
                suppliers of services to be performed within the 
                boycotting country, or specific items which, in the 
                normal course of business, 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 business concern of or organized under 
                the laws of the boycotted country, or to any national 
                or resident of the boycotted country;
                    (E) compliance by an individual, or agreement by an 
                individual to comply, with the immigration 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 
                employment 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 
                country governing imports into such country of 
                trademarked, trade-named, or similarly specifically 
                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).
            (4) Antitrust and civil rights laws not affected.--Nothing 
        in this subsection may be construed 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 intent to evade the provisions of this 
        section or the regulations issued pursuant to this subsection. 
        The regulations issued pursuant to this section shall expressly 
        provide that the exceptions set forth in paragraph (2) do not 
        permit activities or agreements (expressed 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 person 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 
        information concerning the request that the Secretary 
        determines appropriate. The person shall also submit to the 
        Secretary a statement regarding whether the person intends to 
        comply, and whether the person 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 quantity, description, and value of any item to 
        which such report relates may be kept confidential if the 
        Secretary determines that disclosure of that information would 
        place the United States person involved at a competitive 
        disadvantage.
            (3) Summaries to secretary of state.--The Secretary shall 
        periodically transmit summaries of the information contained in 
        the reports filed pursuant 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
            (2) pertains to participation in, compliance with, 
        implementation of, or the furnishing of information regarding 
        restrictive trade practices or boycotts 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 commission 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 impose the 
                following civil penalties on a person for each 
                violation by that person of this section or any 
                regulation or order issued under this section, for each 
                violation:
                            (i) A fine of not more than $250,000.
                            (ii) A prohibition on the person's ability 
                        to export any goods, technology, or services, 
                        whether or not a license has been issued 
                        previously to authorize such an export.
                    (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 sections 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 cooperation 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 thereafter, the President shall 
report to the Congress on the implementation and enforcement of this 
section and on additional steps taken by the United States to bring 
about the termination of the Arab League boycott of Israel and to 
encourage Arab League states to normalize their relations 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 foreign concern); and
                    (C) any foreign subsidiary or affiliate (including 
                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 outside the 
        United States who is employed by a person other than a person 
        described in paragraph (1).
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