[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 102 (Monday, July 19, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H5758-H5759]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 REPORT ON NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO LIBYA--MESSAGE FROM THE 
          PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (H. DOC. NO. 106-99)

  The Speaker pro tempore laid before the House the following message 
from the President of the United States; which was read and, together 
with the accompanying papers, without objection, referred to the 
Committee on International Relations and ordered to be printed:

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 this 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 Foreigns 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

[[Page H5759]]

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 involved export 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 ecomonic 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 the 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 Secretary 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.

                          ____________________