[House Document 105-101]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
105th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - House Document 105-101
DEVELOPMENTS CONCERNING THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO LIBYA
__________
MESSAGE
FROM
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
TRANSMITTING
A REPORT ON THE DEVELOPMENTS SINCE HIS LAST REPORT OF JANUARY 10, 1997,
CONCERNING THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO LIBYA THAT WAS
DECLARED IN EXECUTIVE ORDER 12543 OF JANUARY 7, 1986, PURSUANT TO 50
U.S.C. 1703(c).
June 26, 1997.--Message and accompanying papers 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 10, 1997, concerning the national
emergency with respect to Libya that was declared in Executive
Order 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. As previously reported, on January 2, 1997, I renewed
for another year the national emergency with respect to Libya
pursuant to the IEEPA. This renewal extended the current
comprehensive financial and trade embargo against Libya in
effect since 1986. Under these sanctions, virtually 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
10, 1997.
3. During the last 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 (68)
concerned requests by non-Libyan persons or entities to unblock
transfers interdicted because of what appeared to be Government
of Libya interests. Two licenses authorized the provision of
legal services to the Government of Libya in connection with
actions in U.S. courts in which the Government of Libya was
named as defendant. Licenses were also issued authorizing
diplomatic and U.S. government transactions and to permit U.S.
companies to engage in transactions with respect to
intellectual property protection in Libya. A total of 75
licenses were issued during the reporting period.
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 in interdiction software
systems used to identify such payments. During the reporting
period, more than 100 transactions potentially involving Libya
were interdicted.
5. Since my last report, OFAC collected 13 civil monetary
penalties totaling nearly $90,000 for violations of the U.S.
sanctions against Libya. Ten of the violations involved the
failure of banks to block funds transferred to Libyan-
controlled financial institutions or commercial entities in
Libya. Three U.S. corporations paid the OFAC penalties for
export violations as part of the global plea agreements with
the Department of Justice. Sixty-seven other cases are in
active penalty processing.
6. Various enforcement actions carried over from previous
reporting periods have continued to be aggressively pursued.
Numerous investigations are ongoing and new reports of
violations are being scrutinized.
7. The expenses incurred by the Federal Government in the
6-month period from January 7 through July 6, 1997, that are
directly attributable to the exercise of the powers and
authorities conferred by the declaration of the Libyan national
emergency are estimated at approximately $660,000.00. 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.
8. The policies and the 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, June 26, 1997.