[House Document 113-55]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



113th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 113-55


 
       PROHIBITING CERTAIN IMPORTS OF BURMESE JADEITE AND RUBIES

                               __________

                             COMMUNICATION

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

 AN EXECUTIVE ORDER PROHIBITING THE IMPORTATION INTO THE UNITED STATES 
         OF ANY JADEITE OR RUBIES MINED OR EXTRACTED FROM BURMA




   September 6, 2013.--Referred jointly to the Committees on Foreign 
         Affairs and Ways and Means, and ordered to be printed
                                           The White House,
                                        Washington, August 6, 2013.
Hon. John Boehner,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Speaker: I hereby report that I have issued an 
Executive Order (the ``order'') pursuant to the International 
Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA) 
and the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE (Junta's Anti-Democratic 
Efforts) Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-286) (the ``JADE Act'') 
that takes additional steps with respect to the national 
emergency declared in Executive Order 13047 of May 20, 1997, as 
modified in scope in Executive Order 13448 of October 18, 2007, 
and Executive Order 13619 of July 11, 2012, and relied upon for 
additional steps taken in Executive Order 13310 of July 28, 
2003, Executive Order 13448 of October 18, 2007, Executive 
Order 13464 of April 30, 2008, and Executive Order 13619 of 
July 11, 2012.
    In Executive Order 13047, the President found that the 
Government of Burma committed large-scale repression of the 
democratic opposition in Burma after September 30, 1996, and 
further determined that the actions and policies of the 
Government of Burma constituted an unusual and extraordinary 
threat to the national security and foreign policy of the 
United States and declared a national emergency to deal with 
that threat. To address that threat and to implement section 
570 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related 
Appropriations Act, 1997 (Public Law 104-208), the President in 
Executive Order 13047 prohibited new investment in Burma by 
United States persons. On July 28, 2003, the President issued 
Executive Order 13310, which contained prohibitions 
implementing certain provisions of the Burmese Freedom and 
Democracy Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-61) and blocked the 
property and interests in property of persons listed in the 
Annex to Executive Order 13310 or determined by the Secretary 
of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, 
to meet designation criteria specified in Executive Order 
13310. In Executive Order 13448, the President expanded the 
scope of the national emergency declared in Executive Order 
13047, incorporated existing designation criteria set forth in 
Executive Order 13310, blocked the property and interests in 
property of persons listed in the Annex to Executive Order 
13448, and provided additional criteria for designations of 
other persons. In Executive Order 13464, the President blocked 
the property and interests in property of persons listed in the 
Annex to Executive Order 13464 and provided additional criteria 
for designations of other persons. In Executive Order 13619, I 
modified the scope of the national emergency declared in 
Executive Order 13047 and provided additional designation 
criteria.
    The order that I have just issued prohibits the importation 
into the United States of any jadeite or rubies mined or 
extracted from Burma and any articles of jewelry containing 
jadeite or rubies mined or extracted from Burma. The order 
amends Executive Order 13310 to revoke the section of that 
order imposing a prohibition on the importation into the United 
States of any article that is a product of Burma and a related 
section. The order waives the sanctions described in section 
5(b) of the JADE Act. Except as authorized or exempt, 
transactions with persons included on the Department of the 
Treasury's List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked 
Persons continue to be prohibited pursuant to IEEPA.
    The order authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, in 
consultation with the Secretary of State, to take such actions, 
including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to 
employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA as may be 
necessary to carry out the purposes of the order.
    All agencies of the United States Government are directed 
to take all appropriate measures within their authority to 
carry out the provisions of the order.
    I am enclosing a copy of the Executive Order I have issued.

            Sincerely,
                                                      Barack Obama.
                            Executive Order

                              ----------                              


       Prohibiting Certain Imports of Burmese Jadeite and Rubies

    By the authority vested in me as President by the 
Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, 
including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 
U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE 
(Junta's Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-
286) (the ``JADE Act''), and section 301 of title 3, United 
States Code, and in order to take additional steps with respect 
to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13047 of 
May 20, 1997, as modified in scope in Executive Order 13448 of 
October 18, 2007, and Executive Order 13619 of July 11, 2012, 
and relied upon for additional steps taken in Executive Order 
13310 of July 28, 2003, Executive Order 13448 of October 18, 
2007, Executive Order 13464 of April 30, 2008, and Executive 
Order 13619 of July 11, 2012,
    I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, 
hereby order:
    Section 1. (a) The importation into the United States of 
any jadeite or rubies mined or extracted from Burma and any 
articles of jewelry containing jadeite or rubies mined or 
extracted from Burma is hereby prohibited.
    (b) The prohibition in subsection (a) of this section 
applies except to the extent provided by statutes, or in 
regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued 
pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract 
entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the 
effective date of this order.
    Sec. 2. I hereby amend Executive Order 13310 of July 28, 
2003, by revoking sections 3 and 8 of that order. The 
revocation of those provisions of Executive Order 13310 
pursuant to this section shall not affect any violation of any 
rules, regulations, orders, licenses, or other forms of 
administrative action under that order during the period that 
those provisions of that order were in effect.
    Sec. 3. (a) Any transaction that evades or avoids, has the 
purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation of, or 
attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this 
order is prohibited.
    (b) Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the 
prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.
    Sec. 4. For the purposes of this order:
    (a) the term ``jadeite'' means any jadeite classifiable 
under heading 7103 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States (HTS);
    (b) the term ``rubies'' means any rubies classifiable under 
heading 7103 of the HTS;
    (c) the term ``articles of jewelry containing jadeite or 
rubies'' means:
          (i) any article of jewelry classifiable under heading 
        7113 of the HTS that contains jadeites or rubies; or
          (ii) any article of jadeite or rubies classifiable 
        under heading 7116 of the HTS;
    (d) the term ``person'' means an individual or entity;
    (e) the term ``entity'' means a partnership, association, 
trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other 
organization.
    Sec. 5. Nothing in section 1 of this order shall prohibit 
transactions to the extent such prohibition would conflict with 
the international obligations of the United States under the 
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the Vienna 
Convention on Consular Relations, the United Nations 
Headquarters Agreement, or other legal instruments providing 
equivalent privileges and immunities.
    Sec. 6. Nothing in section 1 of this order shall prohibit 
the importation of any jadeite or rubies mined or extracted 
from Burma or any articles of jewelry containing jadeite or 
rubies mined or extracted from Burma that were previously 
exported from the United States, including those that 
accompanied an individual outside the United States for 
personal use, if they are reimported to the United States by 
the same person, without having been advanced in value or 
improved in condition by any process or other means while 
outside the United States.
    Sec. 7. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with 
the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to take such 
actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, 
and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA as 
may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this order. The 
Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate any of these functions 
to other officers and agencies of the United States Government 
consistent with applicable law. All agencies of the United 
States Government are hereby directed to take all appropriate 
measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of 
this order.
    Sec. 8. Pursuant to section 5(i) of the JADE Act, I hereby 
determine and certify that it is in the national interest of 
the United States to waive, and hereby waive, the sanctions 
described in section 5(h) of the JADE Act. Except as authorized 
or exempt, transactions with persons included on the Department 
of the Treasury's List of Specially Designated Nationals and 
Blocked Persons continue to be prohibited pursuant to IEEPA.
    Sec. 9. This order is not intended to, and does not, create 
any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at 
law or in equity by any party against the United States, its 
departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or 
agents, or any other person.
    Sec. 10. This order is effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern 
daylight time on August 7, 2013.

                                                      Barack Obama.
    The White House, August 6, 2013.

                                  
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