[House Document 106-275]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - House Document 106-275
SIX MONTH PERIODIC REPORT WITH RESPECT TO THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY
DECLARED IN LIBYA
__________
MESSAGE
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Transmitting
A REPORT ON DEVELOPMENTS CONCERNING THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT
TO LIBYA, PURSUANT TO 50 U.S.C. 1641(c)
September 6, 2000.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the
Committee on International Relations and ordered to be printed
To the Congress of the United States:
As required by 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), I transmit
herewith a 6-month periodic report on the national emergency
with respect to Libya that was declared in Executive Order
12543 of January 7, 1986.
William J. Clinton.
The White House, July 27, 2000.
President's Periodic Report on the National Emergency With Respect to
Libya
I hereby report to the Congress on the developments since
my last report of January 7, 2000, 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).
On December 30, 1999, 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 Government of Libya in
the United States or in the possession or control of U.S.
persons are blocked.
There have been no amendments to the Libyan Sanctions
Regulations, 31 CFR Part 550 (the ``LSR''), since my last
report.
During the current 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 authorizations (24)
involved types of financial transactions that are consistent
with U.S. policy. Most of these licenses authorized remittances
between persons, who are not blocked parties, to flow through
Libyan banks located outside Libya. Thirty-one applications to
unblock funds transfers were denied due to a Government of
Libya interest. Eight licenses were issued to authorize certain
travel-related transactions and two authorized certain legal
services. As of May 18, 2000 a total of 42 licenses were issued
during the reporting period.
OFAC continues 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 current reporting period, 183 transactions
potentially involving Libya, totaling nearly $60 million, were
interdicted.
Since my last report, OFAC has collected eight civil
monetary penalties totaling nearly $120,000 for violations of
the U.S. sanctions against Libya from four financial
institutions, three U.S. companies, and one individual. The
violations involved dealings in property in which the
Government of Libya had an interest, including funds transfers
and letters of credit.
On April 26, 2000 a federal grand jury in Houston, Texas,
returned a 23-count criminal indictment against a Houston-based
corporation and its two principal officers. The indictment
charges violations of IEEPA and other federal statutes
involving the illegal exportation to Libya of pipe coating
material for use in the Great Man Made River Project. Other
enforcement actions carried over from previous reporting
periods continue and new reports of alleged violations are
being aggressively pursued.
The expenses incurred by the federal government in the six-
month period from January 7 through July 6, 2000 that are
directly attributable to the exercise of powers and authorities
conferred by the declaration of the Libyan national emergency
are estimated at approximately $630,000. 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.
The crisis between the United States and Libya that led to
the declaration of a national emergency on January 7, 1986 has
not yet been resolved. Despite the UN Security Council's
suspension of UN sanctions against Libya upon the Libyan
government's handover of the Pan Am 103 bombing suspects in
April 1999, Libya has not yet complied with UN Security Council
Resolutions 731 (1992), 748 (1992), and 883 (1993). Therefore,
Libya continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to
the national security and vital foreign policy interests of the
United States. U.S. unilateral sanctions will, therefore,
remain in force, and I will continue to exercise the powers at
my disposal to apply these sanctions fully and effectively, as
long as they remain appropriate. I will continue to report
periodically to the Congress on significant developments as
required by law.