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Office of the Press Secretary
(Highfill, Arkansas)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release November 6, 1998
TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
TO THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
November 6, 1998
Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
I hereby report to the Congress on developments concerning the national
emergency with respect to Sudan that was declared in Executive Order
13067 of November 3, 1997, and matters relating to the measures in that
order. This report is submitted pursuant to section 204(c) of the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1703(c) (IEEPA),
and section 401(c) of the National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1641(c).
This report discusses only matters concerning the national emergency
with respect to Sudan that was declared in Executive Order 13067.
On November 3, 1997, I issued Executive Order 13067 (62 Fed. Reg.
59989, November 5, 1997 -- the "Order") to declare a national emergency
with respect to Sudan pursuant to IEEPA. A copy of the Order was
provided to the Congress by message dated November 3, 1997.
Executive Order 13067 became effective at 12:01 a.m., eastern
standard time on November 4, 1997. On July 1, 1998, the Department of
the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued the
Sudanese Sanctions Regulations (the "SSR" or the "Regulations" (63 Fed.
Reg. 35809, July 1, 1998)). The Regulations block all property and
interests in property of the Government of Sudan, its agencies,
instrumentalities, and controlled entities, including the Central Bank
of Sudan, that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the
United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or
control of United States persons, including their overseas branches.
The SSR also prohibit: (1) the importation into the United States of
any goods or services of Sudanese origin except for information or
informational materials; (2) the exportation or reexportation of goods,
technology, or services to Sudan or the Government of Sudan except for
information or informational materials and donations of humanitarian
aid; (3) the facilitation by a United States person of the exportation
or reexportation of goods, technology, or services to or from Sudan;
(4) the performance by any United States person of any contract,
including a financing contract, in support of an industrial,
commercial, public utility, or governmental project in Sudan; (5) the
grant or extension of credits or loans by any United States person to
the Government of Sudan; and (6) transactions relating to the
transportation of cargo. A copy of the Regulations is attached to this
report.
Since the issuance of Executive Order 13067, OFAC has made numerous
decisions with respect to applications for authorizations to engage in
transactions under the Regulations. As of September 16, 1998, OFAC has
issued 62 authorizations to nongovernmental organizations engaged in
the delivery of humanitarian aid and 141 licenses to others. OFAC has
denied many requests for licenses. The majority of denials were in
response to requests to authorize commercial exports to Sudan --
particularly of machinery and equipment for various industries -- and
the importation of Sudanese-origin goods. The majority of licenses
issued permitted the unblocking of financial transactions for
individual remitters who routed their funds through blocked Sudanese
banks. Other licenses authorized the completion of diplomatic
transfers, preeffective date trade transactions, intellectual property
protection, the performance of certain legal services, and transactions
relating to air and sea safety policy.
At the time of signing Executive Order 13067, I directed the
Secretary of the Treasury to block all property and interests in
property of persons determined, in consultation with the Secretary of
State, to be owned or controlled by, or to act for or on behalf of, the
Government of Sudan. On November 5, 1997, OFAC disseminated details of
this program to the financial, securities, and international trade
communities by both electronic and conventional media. This
information included the names of 62 entities owned or controlled by
the Government of Sudan. The list includes 12 financial institutions
and 50 other enterprises. As of September 10, 1998, OFAC has blocked
nearly $610,000 during this reporting period.
Since my last report, OFAC has collected one civil monetary penalty
in the amount of $5,500 from a U.S. financial institution for its
violation of IEEPA and the SSR relating to a funds transfer. Another
12 cases are undergoing penalty action. OFAC, in cooperation with the
U.S. Customs Service, is closely monitoring potential violations of the
import prohibitions of the Regulations by businesses and individuals.
Various reports of violations are being aggressively pursued.
The expenses incurred by the Federal Government in the 6-month
period from May 3 through November 2, 1998, that are directly
attributable to the exercise of powers and authorities conferred by the
declaration of a national emergency with respect to Sudan are reported
to be approximately $375,000, most of which represent wage and salary
costs for Federal personnel. Personnel costs were largely centered in
the Department of the Treasury (particularly in the Office of Foreign
Assets Control, the U.S. Customs Service, the Office of the Under
Secretary for Enforcement, and the Office of the General Counsel), the
Department of State (particularly the Bureaus of Economic and Business
Affairs, African Affairs, Near Eastern Affairs, Consular Affairs, and
the Office of the Legal Adviser), and the Department of Commerce (the
Bureau of Export Administration and the General Counsel's Office).
The situation in Sudan continues to present an extraordinary and
unusual threat to the national security and foreign policy of the
United States. The declaration of the national emergency with respect
to Sudan contained in Executive Order 13067 under-scores the United
States Government's opposition to the actions and policies of the
Government of Sudan, particularly its support of international
terrorism and its failure to respect basic human rights, including
freedom of religion. The prohibitions contained in Executive Order
13067 advance important objectives in promoting the antiterrorism and
human rights policies of the United States. I shall exercise the
powers at my disposal to deal with these problems and will continue to
report periodically to the Congress on significant developments.