Monday, June 30, 1997

 

Vol. 33, No. 26, ISSN: 0511-4187

 

Message to the Congress on Libya.

 

 

� June 26, 1997

 

 

� To the Congress of the United States:

 

 

� I hereby report to the Congress on the developments since my last

report of January 10, 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. As previously reported, on January 2, 1997, I renewed for another

year the national emergency with respect to Libya pursuant to the

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 on January 10, 1997.

 

 

� 3. During the last 6-month 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 (68) concerned

requests by non-Libyan persons or entities to unblock transfers

interdicted because of what appeared to be Government of Libya

interests. Two 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 75 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 in

interdiction software systems used to identify such payments. During

the reporting period, more than 100 transactions potentially involving

Libya were interdicted.

 

 

� 5. Since my last report, OFAC collected 13 civil monetary penalties

totaling nearly $90,000 for violations of the U.S. sanctions against

Libya. Ten of the violations involved the failure of banks to block

funds transferred to Libyan-controlled financial institutions or

commercial entities in Libya. Three U.S. corporations paid the OFAC

penalties for export violations as part of the global plea agreements

with the Department of Justice. Sixty-seven other cases are in active

penalty processing.

 

 

� 6. 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.

 

 

� 7. The expenses incurred by the Federal Government in the 6-month

period from January 7 through July 6, 1997, that are directly

attributable to the exercise of the powers and authorities conferred by

the declaration of the Libyan national emergency are estimated at

approximately $660,000.00. 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.

 

 

� 8. The policies and the 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 United Nations

Security Council Resolution 883 in November 1993, the 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.

 

 

� William J. Clinton

 

 

� The White House, June 26, 1997.

 

 

� NOTE: This message was released by the Office of the Press Secretary

on June 27.