[House Document 105-284]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 105-284



 
          DEVELOPMENTS CONCERNING NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH LIBYA

                               __________

                             COMMUNICATION

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

A REPORT ON DEVELOPMENTS 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)





 July 15, 1998.--Referred to the Committee on International Relations 
                       and ordered to be printed


                                           The White House,
                                          Washington, July 6, 1998.
Hon. Newt Gingrich,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Speaker: I hereby report to the Congress on the 
developments since my last report of January 13, 1998, 
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. On January 2, 1998, 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, 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 of January 
13, 1998.
    3. During the reporting 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 (34) 
concerned requests by non-Libyan persons or entities to unblock 
certain interdicted funds transfers. Three licenses authorized 
receipt of payment for 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 and for 
other legal services. One license authorizing certain travel 
transactions was issued. A total of 38 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. OFAC worked closely with the banks to 
assure the effectiveness of interdiction software systems used 
to identify such payments. During the reporting period, more 
than 140 transactions potentially involving Libya, totaling 
more than $8.9 million, were interdicted.
    5. Since my last report, OFAC has collected 15 civil 
monetary penalties totaling nearly $280,000 for violations of 
the U.S. sanctions against Libya. Fourteen of the violations 
involved the failure of banks and U.S. corporations to block 
payments or letters of credit transactions relating to Libyan-
owned or -controlled financial institutions. One U.S. 
individual paid an OFAC penalty for commercial exports to 
Libya.
    Various enforcement actions carried over from previous 
reporting periods have continued to be pursued aggressively. 
Numerous investigations are ongoing and new reports of 
violations are being scrutinized.
    6. The expenses incurred by the Federal Government in the 
6-month period from January 7 through July 6, 1998, that are 
directly attributable to the exercise of powers and authorities 
conferred by the declaration of the Libyan national emergency 
are estimated at approximately $960,000. 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 UNSCR 883 in November 1993, the United Nations 
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.
            Sincerely,
                                                William J. Clinton.

                                
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