[House Document 104-248]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                     

104th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - House Document 104-248


 
 DEVELOPMENTS CONCERNING THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO LIBYA

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

  A REPORT ON DEVELOPMENTS SINCE HIS LAST REPORT OF JANUARY 22, 1996, 
   CONCERNING THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO LIBYA THAT WAS 
 DECLARED IN EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 12543 OF JANUARY 7, 1986, PURSUANT TO 
    50 U.S.C. 1641(c), 50 U.S.C. 1703(c), AND 22 U.S.C. 2349aa-9(c)

 


  July 22, 1996.--Message referred to the Committee on International 
                  Relations and ordered to be printed
To the Congress of the United States:
    I hereby report to the Congress on the developments since 
my last report of January 22, 1996, concerning the national 
emergency with respect to Libya that was declared in Executive 
Order No. 12543 of January 7, 1986. This report is submitted 
pursuant to section 401(c) of the National Emergencies Act, 50 
U.S.C. 1641(c); section 204(c) of the International Emergency 
Economic Powers Act (``IEEPA''), 50 U.S.C. 1703(c); and section 
505(c) of the International Security and Development 
Cooperation Act of 1985, 22 U.S.C. 2349aa-9(c).
    1. On January 3, 1996, I renewed for another year the 
national emergency with respect to Libya pursuant to IEEPA. 
This renewal extended the current comprehensive financial and 
trade embargo against Libya in effect since 1986. Under these 
sanctions, all trade with Libya is prohibited, and all assets 
owned or controlled by the Libyan government in the United 
States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are 
blocked.
    2. There have been no amendments to the Libyan Sanctions 
Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 550 (the ``Regulations''), 
administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of 
the Department of the Treasury, since my last report on January 
22, 1996.
    3. During the current 6-month period, OFAC reviewed 
numerous applications for licenses to authorize transactions 
under the Regulations. Consistent with OFAC's ongoing scrutiny 
of banking transactions, the largest category of license 
approvals (91) concerned requests by non-Libyan persons or 
entities to unblock transfers interdicted because of what 
appeared to be Government of Libya interests. Three licenses 
were issued for the expenditure of funds and acquisition of 
goods and services in the United States by or on behalf of 
accredited persons and athletes of Libya in connection with 
participation in the 1996 Paralympic Games. One license was 
issued to authorize a U.S. company to initiate litigation 
against an entity of the Government of Libya.
    4. During the current 6-month period, OFAC continued to 
emphasize to the international banking community in the United 
States the importance of identifying and blocking payments made 
by or on behalf of Libya. The Office worked closely with the 
banks to assure the effectiveness of interdiction software 
systems used to identify such payments. During the reporting 
period, more than 129 transactions potentially involving Libya 
were interdicted, with an additional $7 million held blocked as 
of May 15.
    5. Since my last report, OFAC collected eight civil 
monetary penalties totaling more than $51,000 for violations of 
the U.S. sanctions against Libya. Two of the violations 
involved the failure of banks to block funds transfers to 
Libyan-owned or Libyan-controlled banks. Two other penalties 
were received from corporations for export violations, 
including one received as part of a plea agreement before a 
U.S. district judge. Four additional penalties were paid by 
U.S. citizens engaging in Libyan oilfield-related transactions 
while another 30 cases involving similar violations are in 
active penalty processing.
    On February 6, 1996, a jury sitting in the District of 
Connecticut found two Connecticut businessmen guilty on charges 
of false statements, conspiracy, and illegally diverting U.S.-
origin technology to Libya between 1987 and 1993 in violation 
of U.S. sanctions. On May 22, 1996, a major manufacturer of 
farm and construction equipment entered a guilty plea in the 
United States District Court for the Eastern District of 
Wisconsin for Libyan sanctions violations. A three-count 
information charged the company with aiding and abetting the 
sale of construction equipment and parts from a foreign 
affiliate to Libya. The company paid $1,810,000 in criminal 
fines and $190,000 in civil penalties. Numerous investigations 
carried over from prior reporting periods are continuing and 
new reports of violations are being pursued.
    6. The expenses incurred by the Federal Government in the 
6-month period from January 6 through July 6, 1996, that are 
directly attributable to the exercise of powers and authorities 
conferred by the declaration of the Libyan national emergency 
are estimated at approximately $730,000. Personnel costs were 
largely centered in the Department of the Treasury 
(particularly in the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the 
Office of the General Counsel, and the U.S. Customs Service), 
the Department of State, and the Department of Commerce.
    7. The policies and actions of the Government of Libya 
continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the 
national security and foreign policy of the United States. In 
adopting United Nations Security Council Resolution 883 in 
November 1993, the Security Council determined that the 
continued failure of the Government of Libya to demonstrate by 
concrete actions its renunciation of terrorism, and in 
particular its continued failure to respond fully and 
effectively to the requests and decisions of the Security 
Council in Resolutions 731 and 748, concerning the bombing of 
the Pan Am 103 and UTA 772 flights, constituted a threat to 
international peace and security. The United States will 
continue to coordinate its comprehensive sanctions enforcement 
efforts with those of other U.N. member states. We remain 
determined to ensure that the perpetrators of the terrorist 
acts against Pan Am 103 and UTA 772 are brought to justice. The 
families of the victims in the murderous Lockerbie bombing and 
other acts of Libyan terrorism deserve nothing less. I shall 
continue to exercise the powers at my disposal to apply 
economic sanctions against Libya fully and effectively, so long 
as those measures are appropriate, and will continue to report 
periodically to the Congress on significant developments as 
required by law.
                                                William J. Clinton.
    The White House, July 22, 1996.

                                
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