[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book II)]
[July 6, 1998]
[Pages 1187-1188]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 1187]]


Letter to Congressional Leaders Reporting on the National Emergency With 
Respect to Libya
July 6, 1998

Dear Mr. Speaker:   (Dear Mr. President:)
    I hereby report to the Congress on the developments since my last 
report of January 13, 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 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 no amendments to the Libyan Sanctions 
Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 550 (the ``Regulations''), administered by 
the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Department of the 
Treasury, since my last report of January 13, 1998.
    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 (34) concerned requests by non-Libyan 
persons or entities to unblock certain interdicted funds transfers. 
Three licenses authorized receipt of payment for 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 and for 
other legal services. One license authorizing certain travel 
transactions was issued. A total of 38 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. 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 140 transactions potentially involving 
Libya, totaling more than $8.9 million, were interdicted.
    5. Since my last report, OFAC has collected 15 civil monetary 
penalties totaling nearly $280,000 for violations of the U.S. sanctions 
against Libya. Fourteen of the violations involved the failure of banks 
and U.S. corporations to block payments or letters of credit 
transactions relating to Libyan-owned or -controlled financial 
institutions. One U.S. individual paid an OFAC penalty for commercial 
exports to Libya.
    Various enforcement actions carried over from previous reporting 
periods have continued to be pursued aggressively. 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, 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 $960,000. 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,

[[Page 1188]]

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 July 7.