[House Document 106-99]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 106-99
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A REPORT ON DEVELOPMENTS CONCERNING EXECUTIVE ORDER 12543
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MESSAGE
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 19, 1999.--Message and accompanying papers 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
To the Congress of the United States:
I hereby report to the Congress on the developments since
my last report of December 30, 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 U.S.
persons are blocked.
2. On April 28, 1999, I announced that the United States
will exempt commercial sales of agricultural commodities and
products, medicine, and medical equipment from future
unilateral sanctions regimes. In addition, my Administration
will extend this policy to existing sanctions programs by
modifying licensing policies for currently embargoed countries
to permit case-by-case review of specific proposals for
commercial sales of these items. Certain restrictions apply.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the
Department of the Treasury is currently drafting amendments to
the Libyan Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 550 (the
Regulations), to implement this initiative. The amended
Regulations will provide for the licensing of sales of
agricultural commodities and products, medicine, and medical
supplies to nongovernmental entities in Libya or to government
procurement agencies and parastatals not affiliated with the
coercive organs of that country. The amended Regulations will
also provide for the licensing of all transactions necessary
and incident to licensed sales transactions, such as insurance
and shipping arrangements. Financing for the licensed sales
transactions will be permitted in the manner described in the
amended Regulations.
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 (20)
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. Three licenses were issued authorizing certain travel-
related transactions. One license was issued to a U.S. firm to
allow it to protect its intellectual property rights in Libya;
another authorized receipt of payment for legal services; and a
third authorized payments for telecommunications services. A
total of 26 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, 87 transactions potentially involving Libya, totaling
nearly $3.4 million, were interdicted.
5. Since my last report, OFAC has collected 7 civil
monetary penalties totaling $38,000 from 2 U.S. financial
institutions, 3 companies, and 2 individuals for violations of
the U.S. sanctions against Libya. The violations involvedexport
transactions relating to Libya and dealings in Government of Libya
property or property in which the Government of Libya had an interest.
On April 23, 1999, a foreign national permanent resident in
the United States was sentenced by the Federal District court
for the Middle District of Florida to 2 years in prison and 2
years supervised release for criminal conspiracy to violate
economic sanctions against Libya, Iran, and Iraq. He had
previously been convicted of violation of the Libyan Sanctions
Regulations, the Iranian Transactions Regulations, the Iraqi
Sanctions Regulations and the Export Administration Regulations
for exportation of industrial equipment to the oil, gas,
petrochemical, water, and power industries of Libya, Iran, and
Iraq.
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 Federal Government in the 6-
month period from January 7 through July 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 $4.4 million. 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. In April 1999, Libya surrendered the 2 suspects in the
Lockerbie bombing for trial before a Scottish court seated in
the Netherlands. In accordance with UNSCR 748, upon the
suspects' transfer, UN sanctions were immediately suspended. We
will insist that Libya fulfill the remaining UNSCR requirements
for lifting UN sanctions and are working with UN Secretary
Annan and UN Security Council members to ensure that Libya does
so promptly. U.S. unilateral sanctions 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.
William J. Clinton.
The White House, July 19, 1999.