[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3465 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3465

   To amend the Export Administration Act of 1979 to include in the 
 prohibitions on boycotts against allies of the United States boycotts 
fostered by international governmental organizations against Israel and 
    to direct the Export-Import Bank of the United States to oppose 
            boycotts against Israel, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 29, 2016

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Export Administration Act of 1979 to include in the 
 prohibitions on boycotts against allies of the United States boycotts 
fostered by international governmental organizations against Israel and 
    to direct the Export-Import Bank of the United States to oppose 
            boycotts against 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 ``Protecting Israel Against Economic 
Discrimination Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United Nations Human Rights Council (in this 
        section referred to as the ``UNHRC'') has long targeted Israel 
        with systematic, politically motivated, assaults on its 
        legitimacy designed to stigmatize and isolate Israel 
        internationally.
            (2) The UNHRC maintains a permanent agenda item known as 
        ``Item 7'' to ensure that Israel will be criticized at every 
        gathering of the UNHRC.
            (3) At its 31st session on March 24, 2016, the UNHRC 
        targeted Israel with a commercial boycott, calling for the 
        establishment of a database, such as a ``blacklist'', of 
        companies that operate, or have business relations with 
        entities that operate, beyond Israel's 1949 Armistice lines, 
        including East Jerusalem.
            (4) For a half century, Congress has combated anti-Israel 
        boycotts and other discriminatory activity under the Export 
        Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.) (as 
        continued in effect under the International Emergency Economic 
        Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)), under part VI of title X 
        of the Tax Reform Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-455; 90 Stat. 
        1649) (commonly referred to as the ``Ribicoff Amendment''), in 
        free trade agreements with Bahrain and Oman, and in Saudi 
        Arabia's accession negotiations to the World Trade 
        Organization.
            (5) The recent action of the UNHRC is reminiscent of the 
        Arab League Boycott, which also called for the establishment of 
        a ``blacklist'' and promoted a primary, as well as a secondary 
        and tertiary, boycott against Israel, targeting United States 
        and other companies that trade or invest with or in Israel, and 
        designed to harm Israel, any business operating in, or doing 
        business, with Israel, or companies that do business with 
        companies operating in Israel.
            (6) Congress recently passed anti-boycott, divestment, and 
        sanctions measures in the Bipartisan Congressional Trade 
        Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (title I of Public 
        Law 114-26; 19 U.S.C. 4201 et seq.) and section 909 of the 
        Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 
        4452), which establish, among other things--
                    (A) the opposition of the United States to boycott, 
                divestment, and sanctions activity targeting Israel;
                    (B) requirements that the United States utilize 
                trade negotiations to combat state-led or international 
                governmental organization-led boycott, divestment, and 
                sanctions activity targeting Israel; and
                    (C) reporting requirements regarding the actions of 
                foreign countries or international organizations that 
                establish barriers to trade or investment for United 
                States companies in or with Israel.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    Congress--
            (1) opposes the United Nations Human Rights Council 
        resolution of March 24, 2016, which urges countries to pressure 
        companies subject to their jurisdiction to divest from, or 
        break contracts with, Israel, and calls for the creation of a 
        ``blacklist'' of companies that either operate, or have 
        business relations with entities that operate, beyond Israel's 
        1949 Armistice lines, including East Jerusalem; and
            (2) views such policies as a boycott of, divestment from, 
        and sanctions against Israel.

SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    This Act is intended to address and counter only acts of boycotts, 
divestment, and sanctions against Israel. Nothing in this Act shall be 
construed to alter the established policy of the United States 
concerning final status issues associated with the Arab-Israel 
conflict, including border delineation that can only be resolved 
through direct negotiations between the parties.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Boycott of, divestment from, and sanctions against 
        israel.--The term ``boycott of, divestment from, and sanctions 
        against Israel'' means actions by states, nonmember states of 
        the United Nations, international governmental organizations, 
        or affiliated agencies of international governmental 
        organizations that are politically motivated and are intended 
        to penalize or otherwise limit commercial relations 
        specifically with Israel or persons doing business in Israel or 
        in Israeli-controlled territories.
            (2) Politically motivated.--The term ``politically 
        motivated'' means actions to impede or constrain commerce with 
        Israel that are intended to coerce political action or impose 
        policy positions on Israel.

SEC. 6. ADDITIONAL PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO FOREIGN BOYCOTTS.

    (a) Declaration of Policy.--Section 3(5) of the Export 
Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. 4602(5)) (as continued in effect 
under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 
et seq.)) is amended--
            (1) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as follows:
                    ``(A) to oppose--
                            ``(i) restrictive trade practices or 
                        boycotts fostered or imposed by foreign 
                        countries, or requests to impose restrictive 
                        trade practices or boycotts by foreign 
                        countries, against other countries friendly to 
                        the United States or against any United States 
                        person; and
                            ``(ii) restrictive trade practices or 
                        boycotts fostered or imposed by any 
                        international governmental organization, or 
                        requests to impose restrictive trade practices 
                        or boycotts by any international governmental 
                        organization, against Israel;''; and
            (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``which have the 
        effect'' and all the follows and inserting the following: 
        ``which have the effect of furthering or supporting--
                            ``(i) the restrictive trade practices or 
                        boycotts fostered or imposed by any foreign 
                        country, or requests to impose restrictive 
                        trade practices or boycotts by any foreign 
                        country, against a country friendly to the 
                        United States or against any United States 
                        person; and
                            ``(ii) restrictive trade practices or 
                        boycotts fostered or imposed by any 
                        international governmental organization, or 
                        requests to impose restrictive trade practices 
                        or boycotts by any international governmental 
                        organization, against Israel; and''.
    (b) Foreign Boycotts.--Section 8 of the Export Administration Act 
of 1979 (50 U.S.C. 4607) (as continued in effect under the 
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) by inserting ``, or request to impose 
                        any boycott by a foreign country,'' after ``a 
                        foreign country''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``, or support any 
                        boycott fostered or imposed by any 
                        international governmental organization, or 
                        request to impose any boycott by any 
                        international governmental organization, 
                        against Israel'' after ``pursuant to United 
                        States law or regulation'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``or 
                international governmental organization (as the case 
                may be)'' after ``of the boycotting country''; and
                    (C) in subparagraph (D)--
                            (i) by inserting ``, or requesting the 
                        furnishing of information,'' after ``Furnishing 
                        information''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``or with the 
                        international governmental organization (as the 
                        case may be)'' after ``in the boycotting 
                        country''; and
            (2) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) by inserting ``, or requests to impose 
                restrictive trade practices or boycotts by foreign 
                countries,'' after ``foreign countries''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``or restrictive trade practices 
                or boycotts fostered or imposed by any international 
                governmental organization, or requests to impose 
                restrictive trade practices or boycotts by any 
                international governmental organization, against 
                Israel'' before the period at the end.
    (c) Violations of Section 8(a).--Section 11 of the Export 
Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. 4610) (as continued in effect 
under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 
et seq.)) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``or (j)'' after 
        ``subsection (b)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(j) Violations of Section 8(a).--Whoever knowingly violates or 
conspires to or attempts to violate any provision of section 8(a) or 
any regulation, order, or license issued thereunder shall be fined in 
accordance with section 206 of the International Emergency Economic 
Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705).''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section take 
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and apply with respect 
to actions described in section 8(a) of the Export Administration Act 
of 1979 (as continued in effect under the International Emergency 
Economic Powers Act) taken or knowingly agreed to be taken on or after 
such date of enactment.

SEC. 7. POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES RELATING TO BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL UNDER 
              EXPORT-IMPORT BANK ACT OF 1945.

    Section 2(b)(1)(B) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 
635(b)(1)(B)) is amended in the sixth sentence by inserting after 
``child labor),'' the following: ``or opposing policies and actions 
that are politically motivated and are intended to penalize or 
otherwise limit commercial relations specifically with citizens or 
residents of Israel, entities organized under the laws of Israel, or 
the Government of Israel,''.
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