[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
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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.