    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [January 13, 1998]
    [Pages 49-50]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 49]]

    Letter to Congressional Leaders Reporting on the National Emergency With
    Respect to Libya
    January 13, 1998

    Dear Mr. Speaker:   (Dear Mr. President:)
        I hereby report to the Congress on the developments since my last
    report of June 26, 1997, 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 January 2, 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 Libyan
    government in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S.
    persons are blocked.
        2. There have been two amendments to the Libyan Sanctions
    Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 550 (the ``LSR'' or the ``Regulations''),
    administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the
    Department of the Treasury, since my report of June 26, 1997. The
    Regulations were amended on August 25, 1997. General reporting, record-
    keeping, licensing, and other procedural regulations were moved from the
    Regulations to a separate part (31 C.F.R. Part 501) dealing solely with
    such procedural matters (62 Fed. Reg. 45098, August 25, 1997). A copy of
    the amendment is attached.
        On September 15, 1997, the Regulations were amended to add to
    appendices A and B to 31 C.F.R. chapter V the name of one entity and one
    individual who have been determined to act for or on behalf of, or to be
    owned or controlled by, the Government of Libya (62 Fed. Reg. 48177,
    September 15, 1997). A copy of the amendment is attached.
        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 (32) concerned requests by non-Libyan
    persons or entities to unblock transfers interdicted because of what
    appeared to be Government of Libya interests. Five licenses authorized
    the provision of legal services to the Government of Libya in connection
    with actions in U.S. courts in which the Government of Libya was named
    as defendant. Licenses were also issued authorizing diplomatic and U.S.
    government transactions, and to permit U.S. companies to engage in
    transactions with respect to intellectual property protection in Libya.
    A total of 49 licenses was 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
    OFAC worked closely with the banks to assure the effectiveness of
    interdiction software systems used to identify such payments. During the
    reporting period, more than 70 transactions potentially involving Libya,
    totaling more than $4.4 million, were interdicted. As of November 10,
    1997, 8 transactions had been authorized for release, leaving a net
    amount of more than $4.3 million blocked for the period.
        5. Since my last report, OFAC collected 7 civil monetary penalties
    totaling more than $77,000 for violations of the U.S. sanctions against
    Libya. Five of the violations involved the failure of banks to block
    funds transfers or loan syndication payments to Libyan-owned or -
    controlled financial institutions or commercial entities in Libya. One
    U.S. corporation and one law firm paid OFAC penalties for export and
    payment to the Government of Libya violations, respectively. Fifty-five
    other cases are in active penalty processing.
        Various enforcement actions carried over from previous reporting
    periods have continued to be aggressively pursued. On June 26, 1997, a
    Federal grand jury for the Middle District of Florida returned an
    indictment charging a St. Petersburg, Florida man with one count of
    conspiring

    [[Page 50]]

    to violate IEEPA and the Libyan Sanctions Regulations, two counts of
    dealing in property in which the Government of Libya has an interest,
    one count of purchasing goods (airline tickets) for export from Libya,
    and one count for transactions to evade and avoid the prohibitions of
    the LSR. The defendant remains a fugitive and warrants have been issued
    for his arrest. 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 July 7, 1997, through January 6, 1998, that are directly
    attributable to the exercise of powers and authorities conferred by the
    declaration of the Libyan national emergency are estimated at
    approximately $620,000.00. 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. The policies and actions of the Government of Libya continue to
    pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and
    foreign policy of the United States. In adopting UNSCR 883 in November
    1993, the United Nations Security Council determined that the continued
    failure of the Government of Libya to demonstrate by concrete actions
    its renunciation of terrorism, and in particular its continued failure
    to respond fully and effectively to the requests and decisions of the
    Security Council in Resolutions 731 and 748, concerning the bombing of
    the Pan Am 103 and UTA 772 flights, constituted a threat to
    international peace and security. The United States will continue to
    coordinate its comprehensive sanctions enforcement efforts with those of
    other U.N. member states. We remain determined to ensure that the
    perpetrators of the terrorist acts against Pan Am 103 and UTA 772 are
    brought to justice. The families of the victims in the murderous
    Lockerbie bombing and other acts of Libyan terrorism deserve nothing
    less. I shall continue to exercise the powers at my disposal to apply
    economic sanctions against Libya fully and effectively, so long as those
    measures are appropriate, and will continue to report periodically to
    the Congress on significant developments as required by law.
            Sincerely,

                                                          William J. Clinton

    Note: Identical letters were sent to Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the House
    of Representatives, and Albert Gore, Jr., President of the Senate. This
    letter was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on January 14.