FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 5, 1999
No. TR-8
Congressman Philip M. Crane (R-IL), Chairman, Subcommittee on Trade of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the use and effect of unilateral trade sanctions. The hearing will take place on Thursday, May 27, 1999, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 11:00 a.m.
Oral testimony at this hearing will be from both invited and public witnesses. Invited witnesses will include the Honorable Stuart E. Eizenstat, Undersecretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs. Also, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee or for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
A number of U.S. laws and executive actions authorize unilateral economic or trade sanctions on other countries or entities for a variety of purposes, including: human rights, anti-terrorism, nuclear non-proliferation, political stability, anti-narcotics, worker rights, and environmental protection. While these sanctions are imposed for foreign policy, national security, or other non-trade reasons, they have consequences on the U.S. economy in terms of lost trade opportunities for U.S. firms and workers. Studies have found that U.S. unilateral sanctions cost the U.S. economy $15 to $19 billion per year in lost exports.
In recent years, Congress has passed several unilateral trade sanctions limiting the ability of U.S. companies to trade with certain countries, including third party countries or entities involved in trade with sanctioned countries. For example, the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-172) mandates sanctions against foreign investment in the petroleum sectors of Iran and Libya as well as exports of weapons, oil equipment, and aviation equipment to Libya. The Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act (P.L. 104-114), commonly known as "Helms-Burton" or the Libertad Act, strengthened the U.S. embargo against Cuba and established sanctions against certain persons or entities in third countries involved in trade and investment in Cuba. Most recently, the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-292) was enacted to provide for the imposition of sanctions against countries engaged in a pattern of religious persecution.
Other statutes provide discretionary or mandatory authority to the President to impose unilateral sanctions under certain circumstances. Among these statutes are the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA, P.L. 95-223, Title II), the International Narcotics Control Trade Act (P.L. 99-570, Title 9), the International Security and Development Cooperation Act of 1985 (P.L. 99-83), and the Arms Export Control Act (AECA). Recent unilateral sanctions imposed by executive action under IEEPA and other statutes include those invoked against Burma (Mynamar) in May 1997 and Sudan in November 1997. After India and Pakistan tested nuclear devices in May 1998, the President implemented sanctions mandated under the AECA. Subsequently, Congress passed legislation, P.L. 105-194, exempting for one year AECA restrictions on financing for food and agricultural exports. In November, President Clinton eased some economic sanctions using the one-year waiver authority given to him under the Omnibus Appropriations Act for fiscal year 1999 (P.L. 105-277).
On April 28, 1999, President Clinton announced a formal policy change in the way unilateral sanctions are imposed under executive action. Specifically, the policy change exempts commercial sales of agricultural commodities and products, medicine, and medical equipment from new unilateral economic sanctions regimes unless doing so is in the national interest. With respect to currently embargoed countries, the President also approved a modification to current licensing policy to permit, to the extent permitted by law, the case-by-case review, according to certain specified criteria, of proposals for commercial sales of agricultural commodities and products, medicine, and medical equipment to Iran, Libya, and Sudan.
In the 106th Congress, Chairman Crane, together with 72 bipartisan cosponsors, introduced H.R. 1244, the "Enhancement of Trade, Security, and Human Rights Through Sanctions Reform Act," to provide a procedural framework for the consideration of future legislative and executive sanctions. In addition, H.R. 1244 would amend the AECA to provide permanent waiver authority to the President with respect to the sanctions imposed against non-nuclear countries that conduct nuclear tests.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Crane stated: "In recent years, we have seen a significant increase in the tendency to impose unilateral trade sanctions in the pursuit of foreign policy or other non-trade objectives. Often it is hard to see any tangible results of the sanctions, except in terms of lost opportunities for U.S. exporters to the benefit of our foreign competitors in the global market and to the detriment of our businesses, workers, and consumers. Before we impose unilateral sanctions in the future, we should have a full understanding of their ramifications and the probability that they will produce the desired results. Moreover, we should fully explore the possibility of multilateral sanctions before acting unilaterally to enhance the likelihood of achieving our goals. I look forward to this opportunity to learn more about the implications of U.S. unilateral trade sanctions on U.S. economic interests."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The focus of the hearing is to examine the use of U.S. unilateral trade sanctions, including those imposed by legislative and executive action. The Subcommittee will also assess the impact of such sanctions on the U.S. economy, businesses, workers, and consumers, as well as whether recent trade sanctions have achieved their stated goals. Finally, the Subcommittee will take testimony on the procedural framework proposed in H.R. 1244 to govern the consideration of future unilateral economic sanctions to ensure that they actually advance U.S. interests.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSIONS OF REQUESTS TO BE HEARD:
Requests to be heard at the hearing must be made by telephone to Traci Altman or Pete Davila at (202) 225-1721 no later than the close of business, Thursday, May 20, 1999. The telephone request should be followed by a formal written request to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. The staff of the Subcommittee on Trade will notify by telephone those scheduled to appear as soon as possible after the filing deadline. Any questions concerning a scheduled appearance should be directed to the Subcommittee on Trade staff at (202) 225-6649.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, the Subcommittee may not be able to accommodate all requests to be heard. Those persons and organizations not scheduled for an oral appearance are encouraged to submit written statements for the record of the hearing. All persons requesting to be heard, whether they are scheduled for oral testimony or not, will be notified as soon as possible after the filing deadline.
Witnesses scheduled to present oral testimony are required to summarize briefly their written statements in no more than five minutes. THE FIVE-MINUTE RULE WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED. The full written statement of each witness will be included in the printed record, in accordance with House Rules.
In order to assure the most productive use of the limited amount of time available to question witnesses, all witnesses scheduled to appear before the Subcommittee are required to submit 200 copies, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, of their prepared statement for review by Members prior to the hearing. Testimony should arrive at the Subcommittee on Trade office, room 1104 Longworth House Office Building, no later than Tuesday, May 25, 1999. Failure to do so may result in the witness being denied the opportunity to testify in person.
WRITTEN STATEMENTS IN LIEU OF PERSONAL APPEARANCE:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Thursday, June 10, 1999, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Trade office, room 1104 Longworth House Office Building, by close of business the day before the hearing.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.