[House Document 106-9]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 106-9
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A REPORT ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO LIBYA
__________
COMMUNICATION
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
A REPORT ON DEVELOPMENTS SINCE HIS LAST REPORT OF JULY 6, 1998,
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. 1703(c)
February 2, 1999.--Referred to the Committee on International Relations
and ordered to be printed
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U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
69-011 WASHINGTON : 1999
The White House,
Washington, December 30, 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 July 6, 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 December 30, 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 Government of Libya in
the United States or in the possession or control of United
States 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 July 6,
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 (26)
involved types of financial transactions that are consistent
with U.S. policy. Most of these licenses authorized personal
remittances not involving Libya between persons who are not
blocked parties to flow through Libyan banks located outside
Libya. Seven licenses were issued to U.S. firms to allow them
to protect their intellectual property rights in Libya. One
license was issued in connection with law enforcement
activities and one authorized certain travel-related
transactions. A total of 35 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 of interdiction software
systems used to identify such payments. During the reporting
period, more than 87 transactions potentially involving Libya,
totaling more than $7.9 million, were interdicted.
5. Since my last report, OFAC has collected 4 civil
monetary penalties totaling more than $15,000 for violations of
the U.S. sanctions against Libya. Three of the violations
involved the failure of U.S. banks to block payments or letters
of credit transactions relating to Libyan-owned or Libyan-
controlled financial institutions. One U.S. individual paid an
OFAC penalty for dealing in Government of Libya property.
On October 16, 1998, two Canadian corporations entered a
guilty plea acknowledging IEEPA violations charged in a March
8, 1995, indictment. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the
defendants each paid $65,000 in criminal fines and $10,000 in
OFAC civil penalties.
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.
6. The expenses incurred by the Federal Government in the
6-month period from July 7, 1998, through January 6, 1999, that
are directly attributable to the exercise of powers and
authorities conferred by the declaration of the Libyan national
emergency are estimated at approximately $500,000. 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.