[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3235 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 3235

 To require a strategy to counter the role of the People's Republic of 
China in evasion of sanctions imposed by the United States with respect 
                    to Iran, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 7, 2023

 Mr. Risch (for himself and Mr. Rubio) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require a strategy to counter the role of the People's Republic of 
China in evasion of sanctions imposed by the United States with respect 
                    to Iran, 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 ``End Iranian Terrorism Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the Islamic Republic of Iran has long provided hundreds 
        of millions of dollars in material support to Hamas and other 
        terrorist groups, such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad, that 
        directly threaten Israel;
            (2) Iran poses a threat to regional and global security and 
        has earned approximately $80,000,000,000 in oil revenues since 
        2021;
            (3) the People's Republic of China, seeking to secure 
        reliable sources of Middle Eastern energy, has purchased 
        roughly $47,000,000,000 in Iranian petroleum products since 
        2021 and is undercutting the enforcement of sanctions imposed 
        by the United States with respect to Iran;
            (4) illicit purchases of Iranian petroleum products by the 
        People's Republic of China and other countries fund the Iranian 
        regime's suppression of human rights in Iran, provide valuable 
        resources for Iran's terrorist proxies, and provide additional 
        resources for support by Iran for the Russian Federation in its 
        unprovoked war in Ukraine, contrary to United States policy;
            (5) lack of sanctions and sanctions enforcement directly 
        undercuts United States policy objectives in the Indo-Pacific 
        region, Europe, the Middle East, and beyond;
            (6) increasing encroachment by the People's Republic of 
        China in the Middle East and North Africa, include involvement 
        of the People's Republic of China in illicit oil trade, runs 
        counter to the national security interests of the United 
        States; and
            (7) the United States should immediately enforce existing 
        sanctions, including sanctions provided for in Executive Order 
        13846 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to reimposing certain 
        sanctions with respect to Iran), and expand sanctions 
        designations to include persons that store Iranian oil, ship-
        to-ship oil transfer operators, ports and port operators, 
        refineries and refinery operators, and other individuals and 
        entities, particularly in the People's Republic of China, 
        dealing in Iranian-origin oil and petrochemicals.

SEC. 3. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.

    In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
        Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate; and
            (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
        Financial Services of the House of Representatives.

SEC. 4. STRATEGY TO COUNTER ROLE OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA IN 
              EVASION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO IRAN.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the 
heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, shall submit to the 
appropriate congressional committees a written strategy, and provide to 
those committees an accompanying briefing, on the role of the People's 
Republic of China in evasion of sanctions imposed by the United States 
with respect to Iranian-origin petroleum products that includes an 
assessment of options--
            (1) to strengthen the enforcement of such sanctions; and
            (2) to expand sanctions designations targeting the 
        involvement of the People's Republic of China in the 
        production, transportation, storage, refining, and sale of 
        Iranian-origin petroleum products.
    (b) Elements.--The strategy required by subsection (a) shall 
include--
            (1) a description of the use of sanctions in effect before 
        the date of the enactment of this Act to target individuals and 
        entities of the People's Republic of China that are directly or 
        indirectly associated with smuggling of Iranian-origin 
        petroleum products;
            (2) an assessment of--
                    (A) the People's Republic of China's petroleum 
                refining capabilities;
                    (B) which of the People's Republic of China's 
                refineries are at high risk of processing Iranian-
                origin petroleum products and why;
                    (C) Iranian-owned entities operating in the 
                People's Republic of China and involved in petroleum 
                refining supply chains;
                    (D) the People's Republic of China's role in global 
                petroleum refining supply chains;
                    (E) how the People's Republic of China leverages 
                its role in global petroleum supply chains to achieve 
                political objectives;
                    (F) the People's Republic of China's petroleum 
                importing and exporting partners;
                    (G) what percent of the People's Republic of 
                China's energy consumption is linked to illegally 
                imported Iranian-origin petroleum products;
                    (H) the amount of money the People's Republic of 
                China saves by illegally importing discounted Iranian-
                origin petroleum products rather than paying market 
                price;
                    (I) what level of influence the Chinese Communist 
                Party holds over non-state, semi-independent ``teapot'' 
                refineries; and
                    (J) the challenges limiting the ability of the 
                United States to impose or enforce sanctions with 
                respect to such refineries, including--
                            (i) Lawen Namu Petroleum Trading Company;
                            (ii) Qihang Energy; and
                            (iii) Shangang Guomao;
            (3) a detailed plan for--
                    (A) monitoring the maritime domain for smuggling of 
                Iranian-origin petroleum products in violation of 
                sanctions imposed by the United States, including 
                through--
                            (i) automatic identification system 
                        monitoring;
                            (ii) satellite imagery;
                            (iii) vessel comparison and tanker 
                        classification;
                            (iv) receiving tips from operators; and
                            (v) creating a database of reported 
                        potential sanctions violations;
                    (B) identifying the individuals, entities, and 
                vessels responsible for such smuggling, including--
                            (i) vessels--
                                    (I) operated by the National 
                                Iranian Tanker Company or any other 
                                Chinese or Iranian entity subject to 
                                sanctions imposed by the United States;
                                    (II) transporting petrochemicals 
                                subject to sanctions;
                                    (III) conducting ship-to-ship 
                                transfers of such petrochemicals;
                                    (IV) with deactivated automatic 
                                identification systems; or
                                    (V) that engage in ``flag hopping'' 
                                by changing national registries;
                            (ii) individuals or entities--
                                    (I) storing petrochemicals subject 
                                to sanctions; or
                                    (II) refining or otherwise 
                                processing such petrochemicals; and
                            (iii) through the use of port entry and 
                        docking permission of vessels subject to 
                        sanctions;
                    (C) assessing the viability of seizing targets 
                identified as belonging to entities smuggling Iranian-
                origin petroleum products in violation of sanctions 
                imposed by the United States, including--
                            (i) location;
                            (ii) origin and destination;
                            (iii) seaworthiness; and
                            (iv) asset value;
                    (D) seizing, prosecuting, and, if appropriate, 
                liquidating viable targets identified as belonging to 
                entities involved in such smuggling;
                    (E) deterring individuals and entities from 
                violating sanctions by educating and engaging--
                            (i) insurance providers;
                            (ii) parent companies; and
                            (iii) vessel operators;
                    (F) collaborating with allies and partners of the 
                United States engaged in the Arabian Peninsula, 
                including through standing or new maritime task forces, 
                to build sanctions enforcement capacity through 
                assistance and training to defense and law enforcement 
                services; and
                    (G) using public communications and global 
                diplomatic engagements to highlight the role of 
                petroleum product smuggling in supporting Iran's human 
                rights abuses and destabilizing terrorism activities; 
                and
            (4) an assessment of--
                    (A) the total number of vessels smuggling Iranian-
                origin petroleum products;
                    (B) the total number of vessels smuggling such 
                petroleum products destined for the People's Republic 
                of China;
                    (C) the number of vessels smuggling such petroleum 
                products specifically from the Islamic Revolutionary 
                Guard Corps;
                    (D) the most strategic locations for intercepting 
                smuggled Iranian-origin petroleum products destined for 
                the People's Republic of China;
                    (E) interference from the People's Republic of 
                China in attempts by the United States to investigate 
                or enforce sanctions on Iranian petroleum product 
                exports;
                    (F) the effectiveness of the use of sanctions with 
                respect to insurers of entities that own or operate 
                vessels involved in smuggling Iranian-origin petroleum 
                products;
                    (G) the distinction between the total number of 
                suspected violations of sanctions related to smuggling 
                of Iranian-origin petroleum products and the number of 
                vessels legally viable to seize and prosecute in 
                litigation, if any, and an accompanying explanation for 
                each;
                    (H) the personnel and resources needed to enforce 
                sanctions with respect to Iranian-origin petroleum 
                products; and
                    (I) the impact of smuggled Iranian-origin petroleum 
                products on global energy markets.
    (c) Form.--The strategy required by subsection (a) shall be 
submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified index.

SEC. 5. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the President shall--
            (1) identify each foreign entity, including any member of 
        the Chinese Communist Party or an entity organized under the 
        laws of the People's Republic of China or otherwise subject to 
        the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China, that the 
        President determines meets the criteria for the imposition of 
        sanctions under--
                    (A) the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-
                172;50 U.S.C. 1701 note);
                    (B) the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, 
                Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 
                8501 et seq.);
                    (C) section 1245 of the National Defense 
                Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (22 U.S.C. 
                8513a);
                    (D) the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human 
                Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8701 et seq.);
                    (E) the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act 
                of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8801 et seq.);
                    (F) title I of the Countering America's Adversaries 
                Through Sanctions Act (22 U.S.C. 9401 et seq.);
                    (G) any Executive order imposing sanctions with 
                respect to Iran issued under the authority provided by 
                the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 
                U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); or
                    (H) any other provision of law imposing sanctions 
                with respect to Iran; and
            (2) impose sanctions applicable under existing law with 
        respect to each such entity.
    (b) Report Required.--Not later than 30 days after the imposition 
of sanctions under subsection (a) with respect to a foreign entity, the 
President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
report on the sanctions imposed.
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