[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 78 (Tuesday, June 16, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6420-S6421]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN:
  S. 2179. A bill to amend the International Emergency Economic Powers 
Act to clarify the conditions under which export controls may be 
imposed on agricultural products; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, 
and Urban Affairs.


         SELECTIVE AGRICULTURE EMBARGO PROHIBITION ACT OF 1998

  Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN. Mr. President, in January 1980, President Jimmy 
Carter terminated U.S. shipments of wheat and corn to the Soviet Union 
in retaliation against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The effect 
of this embargo on the USSR was limited, but the impact on American 
farmers was severe, cutting off the market for 17 million tons of U.S. 
grain and prompting the Soviets to reduce long term reliance on U.S. 
farm exports.
  This action unfairly singled out the agriculture community to 
shoulder the burden of U.S. foreign policy. Congress quickly responded 
by limiting the President's power to impose restrictions on agriculture 
exports. The Export Administration Act, the principal export control 
statute of the era, was amended to include provisions to prohibit the 
President from imposing export controls on farm commodities for more 
than sixty days without Congressional approval.
  The Export Administration Act expired August 20, 1994, however, and 
consequently, the legal protections that prevent the singling out of 
agriculture exports are no longer in place.
  The current statutory vehicle that allows the President to impose 
economic sanctions is the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 
also known by its acronym, IEEPA. The IEEPA allows the President to 
employ a wide range of sanctions against countries determined to be a 
threat to U.S. national security, foreign policy, or economy. If the 
President chooses to act under IEEPA, he can then declare a national 
emergency, and then is required to report to Congress explaining his 
actions. Sanctions authorized under IEEPA can continue until the 
President decides to terminate the emergency, or unless Congress acts 
to terminate it by joint resolution.
  The President enjoys almost unlimited authority under IEEPA. The 
statute requires the President to consult with Congress on his actions, 
but this consultation is discretionary, not mandatory. Most 
importantly, nothing in IEEPA prevents a President from targeting 
American agriculture as a tool for sanctions or embargos against a 
foreign nation.
  My bill, the Selective Agriculture Embargo Prohibition Act, simply 
restores the protection against selective embargos that farmers enjoyed 
before the EAA was allowed to lapse. Under the provisions of my bill, a 
President who imposes an embargo on agriculture commodities, using the 
authority provided by IEEPA, must report this action immediately to 
Congress. The President also must set forth the reasons, in detail, for 
this action, and specify the period of time, which may not exceed one 
year, that the agriculture export controls are proposed to be in 
effect.
  My bill allows Congress 60 days after receiving the report to adopt a 
joint resolution approving the agriculture exports controls. If 
Congress fails to adopt that resolution within 60 days, then the 
controls shall cease to be effective upon the expiration of the 60 
days.

[[Page S6421]]

  Entering and expanding into foreign markets is not a simple task. It 
requires years of extensive work to nurture business relationships, 
foster consumer confidence and trust, and establish the procedures for 
effective sales. Destroying foreign markets, by comparison, can occur 
swiftly and easily, wreaking long-lasting and largely irreparable 
damage on American industries that have invested the time and money to 
build a strong consumer base overseas. Those foreign purchasers who 
cannot rely on American imports will then turn to other sources--our 
foreign competitors--and shut out American products for good.
  That kind of damage was precisely the effect of the 1980 embargo on 
U.S. agriculture. And given the almost logarithmic increases in U.S. 
farm exports over the past decade, any sanction or embargo that targets 
agriculture today would have even greater devastating and permanent 
effects on the U.S. farm economy. We must ensure that this sort of 
mistake is never repeated.
  There will be critics who argue that my legislation ties the hands of 
the President. This is not the case. My bill simply ensures that we do 
not embargo agriculture commodities unless both the President and the 
Congress are in full agreement. My bill ensures that adequate 
safeguards are in place so that farm families do not unfairly shoulder 
the burden of American foreign policy.
  This legislation is very similar to the restrictions enacted three 
times by Congress during consideration of the Export Enhancement Act 
and later signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. This is a 
bipartisan bill is also good trade policy, good farm policy, and good 
economic policy. I urge my colleagues to support the swift passage of 
this bill in the Senate.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2179

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Selective Agriculture 
     Embargo Prohibition Act''.

     SEC. 2. AGRICULTURAL EXPORT CONTROLS.

       The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 
     1701 et seq.) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating section 208 as section 209; and
       (2) by inserting after section 207 the following new 
     section:

     ``SEC. 208. AGRICULTURAL CONTROLS.

       ``(a) In General.--
       ``(1) Report to congress.--If the President imposes export 
     controls on any agricultural commodity in order to carry out 
     the provisions of this Act, the President shall immediately 
     transmit a report on such action to Congress, setting forth 
     the reasons for the controls in detail and specifying the 
     period of time, which may not exceed 1 year, that the 
     controls are proposed to be in effect. If Congress, within 60 
     days after the date of its receipt of the report, adopts a 
     joint resolution pursuant to subsection (b), approving the 
     imposition of the export controls, then such controls shall 
     remain in effect for the period specified in the report, or 
     until terminated by the President, whichever occurs first. If 
     Congress, within 60 days after the date of its receipt of 
     such report, fails to adopt a joint resolution approving such 
     controls, then such controls shall cease to be effective upon 
     the expiration of that 60-day period.
       ``(2) Application of paragraph (1).--The provisions of 
     paragraph (1) and subsection (b) shall not apply to export 
     controls--
       ``(A) which are extended under this Act if the controls, 
     when imposed, were approved by Congress under paragraph (1) 
     and subsection (b); or
       ``(B) which are imposed with respect to a country as part 
     of the prohibition or curtailment of all exports to that 
     country.
       ``(b) Joint Resolution.--
       ``(1) In general.--For purposes of this subsection, the 
     term `joint resolution' means only a joint resolution the 
     matter after the resolving clause of which is as follows: 
     `That, pursuant to section 208 of the International Emergency 
     Economic Powers Act, the President may impose export controls 
     as specified in the report submitted to Congress on 
     _________