[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2589 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2589
To prohibit certain activities in support of the Arab League boycott of
Israel, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 19, 2011
Mr. Berman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit certain activities in support of the Arab League boycott of
Israel, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Antiboycott Act''.
SEC. 2. ANTIBOYCOTT PROVISIONS.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
(1) the Arab League boycott of Israel, and the secondary
boycott of United States firms that have commercial ties with
Israel, are an impediment to investment, trade, economic
development, and peace in the Middle East and North Africa;
(2) it is in the common interest of the people of Israel
and the Arab states that the Arab League boycott be terminated,
that the Central Office for the Boycott of Israel be closed,
and that Arab League states normalize relations with their
neighbor Israel; and
(3) the President, the Secretary of State, and the
Secretary of Commerce should continue to vigorously oppose the
Arab League boycott of Israel and use the authorities enacted
into law by Congress to take concrete steps to seek an end to
the Arab League boycott.
(b) Policy.--It is the policy of the United States--
(1) to oppose restrictive trade practices or boycotts
fostered or imposed by foreign countries against other
countries friendly to the United States or against any United
States person;
(2) to encourage and, in specified cases, require United
States persons engaged in the export of goods or technology or
other information to refuse to take actions, including
furnishing information or entering into or implementing
agreements, which have the effect of furthering or supporting
the restrictive trade practices or boycotts fostered or imposed
by any foreign country against a country friendly to the United
States or against any United States person; and
(3) to foster international cooperation and the development
of international rules and institutions to assure reasonable
access to world supplies.
(c) Prohibitions and Exceptions.--
(1) Prohibitions.--In order to carry out the purposes set
forth in subsection (b), the Secretary of Commerce (in this Act
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall issue regulations
prohibiting any United States person, with respect to that
person's activities in the interstate or foreign commerce of
the United States, from taking or knowingly agreeing to take
any of the following actions with intent to comply with,
further, or support any boycott fostered or imposed by a
foreign country against a country that is friendly to the
United States and is not itself the object of any form of
boycott pursuant to United States law or regulation:
(A) Refusing, or requiring any other person to
refuse, to do business with or in the boycotted
country, with any business concern organized under the
laws of the boycotted country, with any national or
resident of the boycotted country, or with any other
person, pursuant to an agreement with, or requirement
of, or a request from or on behalf of the boycotting
country. The mere absence of a business relationship
with or in the boycotted country with any business
concern organized under the laws of the boycotted
country, with any national or resident of the boycotted
country, or with any other person, does not indicate
the existence of the intent required to establish a
violation of regulations issued to carry out this
subparagraph.
(B) Refusing, or requiring any other person to
refuse, to employ or otherwise discriminate against any
United States person on the basis of the race,
religion, sex, or national origin of that person or of
any owner, officer, director, or employee of such
person.
(C) Furnishing information with respect to the
race, religion, sex, or national origin of any United
States person or of any owner, officer, director, or
employee of such person.
(D) Furnishing information about whether any person
has, has had, or proposes to have any business
relationship (including a relationship by way of sale,
purchase, legal or commercial representation, shipping
or other transport, insurance, investment, or supply)
with or in the boycotted country, with any business
concern organized under the laws of the boycotted
country, with any national or resident of the boycotted
country, or with any other person which is known or
believed to be restricted from having any business
relationship with or in the boycotting country. Nothing
in this subparagraph shall prohibit the furnishing of
normal business information in a commercial context as
defined by the Secretary.
(E) Furnishing information about whether any person
is a member of, has made a contribution to, or is
otherwise associated with or involved in the activities
of any charitable or fraternal organization that
supports the boycotted country.
(F) Paying, honoring, confirming, or otherwise
implementing a letter of credit that contains any
condition or requirement the compliance with which is
prohibited by regulations issued pursuant to this
paragraph, and no United States person shall, as a
result of the application of this paragraph, be
obligated to pay or otherwise honor or implement such
letter of credit.
(2) Exceptions.--Regulations issued pursuant to paragraph
(1) may provide exceptions for--
(A) compliance, or agreement to comply, with
requirements--
(i) prohibiting the import of items from
the boycotted country or items produced or
provided, by any business concern organized
under the laws of the boycotted country or by
nationals or residents of the boycotted
country; or
(ii) prohibiting the shipment of items to
the boycotting country on a carrier of the
boycotted country or by a route other than that
prescribed by the boycotting country or the
recipient of the shipment;
(B) compliance, or agreement to comply, with import
and shipping document requirements with respect to the
country of origin, the name of the carrier and route of
shipment, the name of the supplier of the shipment, or
the name of the provider of other services, except
that, for purposes of applying any exception under this
subparagraph, no information knowingly furnished or
conveyed in response to such requirements may be stated
in negative, blacklisting, or similar exclusionary
terms, other than with respect to carriers or route of
shipment as may be permitted by such regulations in
order to comply with precautionary requirements
protecting against war risks and confiscation;
(C) compliance, or agreement to comply, in the
normal course of business with the unilateral and
specific selection by a boycotting country, or a
national or resident thereof, of carriers, insurers,
suppliers of services to be performed within the
boycotting country, or specific items which, in the
normal course of business, are identifiable by source
when imported into the boycotting country;
(D) compliance, or agreement to comply, with export
requirements of the boycotting country relating to
shipment or transshipment of exports to the boycotted
country, to any business concern of or organized under
the laws of the boycotted country, or to any national
or resident of the boycotted country;
(E) compliance by an individual, or agreement by an
individual to comply, with the immigration or passport
requirements of any country with respect to such
individual or any member of such individual's family or
with requests for information regarding requirements of
employment of such individual within the boycotting
country; and
(F) compliance by a United States person resident
in a foreign country, or agreement by such a person to
comply, with the laws of the country with respect to
the person's activities exclusively therein, and such
regulations may contain exceptions for such resident
complying with the laws or regulations of the foreign
country governing imports into such country of
trademarked, trade-named, or similarly specifically
identifiable products, or components of products for
such person's own use, including the performance of
contractual services within that country.
(3) Limitation on exceptions.--Regulations issued pursuant
to paragraphs (2)(C) and (2)(F) shall not provide exceptions
from paragraphs (1)(B) and (1)(C).
(4) Antitrust and civil rights laws not affected.--Nothing
in this subsection may be construed to supersede or limit the
operation of the antitrust or civil rights laws of the United
States.
(5) Evasion.--This section applies to any transaction or
activity undertaken by or through a United States person or any
other person with intent to evade the provisions of this
section or the regulations issued pursuant to this subsection.
The regulations issued pursuant to this section shall expressly
provide that the exceptions set forth in paragraph (2) do not
permit activities or agreements (expressed or implied by a
course of conduct, including a pattern of responses) otherwise
prohibited, which are not within the intent of such exceptions.
(d) Reports.--
(1) In general.--Regulations issued under this section
shall require that any United States person receiving a request
to furnish information, enter into or implement an agreement,
or take any other action referred to in subsection (c) shall
report that request to the Secretary, together with any other
information concerning the request that the Secretary
determines appropriate. The person shall also submit to the
Secretary a statement regarding whether the person intends to
comply, and whether the person has complied, with the request.
(2) Public availability of reports.--Any report filed
pursuant to this subsection shall be made available promptly
for public inspection and copying, except that information
regarding the quantity, description, and value of any item to
which such report relates may be kept confidential if the
Secretary determines that disclosure of that information would
place the United States person involved at a competitive
disadvantage.
(3) Summaries to secretary of state.--The Secretary shall
periodically transmit summaries of the information contained in
the reports filed pursuant to this subsection to the Secretary
of State for such action as the Secretary of State, in
consultation with the Secretary, considers appropriate to carry
out the purposes set forth in subsection (b).
(e) Preemption.--The provisions of this section and the regulations
issued under this section shall preempt any law, rule, or regulation
that--
(1) is a law, rule, or regulation of any of the several
States or the District of Columbia, or any of the territories
or possessions of the United States, or of any governmental
subdivision thereof; and
(2) pertains to participation in, compliance with,
implementation of, or the furnishing of information regarding
restrictive trade practices or boycotts fostered or imposed by
foreign countries against other countries.
(f) Penalties.--
(1) Unlawful acts.--It shall be unlawful for a person to
violate, attempt to violate, conspire to violate, or cause a
violation of this section or of any regulation or order issued
under this section.
(2) Criminal penalty.--A person who, with knowledge or
intent, commits, attempts to commit, or conspires to commit, or
aids or abets in the commission of, an unlawful act described
in subsection (c) shall, upon conviction, be fined not more
than $1,000,000, or, if a natural person, be imprisoned for not
more than 20 years, or both.
(3) Civil penalties.--
(A) Authority.--The President may impose the
following civil penalties on a person for each
violation by that person of this section or any
regulation or order issued under this section, for each
violation:
(i) A fine of not more than $250,000.
(ii) A prohibition on the person's ability
to export any goods, technology, or services,
whether or not a license has been issued
previously to authorize such an export.
(B) Procedures.--Any civil penalty under this
subsection may be imposed only after notice and
opportunity for an agency hearing on the record in
accordance with sections 554 through 557 of title 5,
United States Code, and shall be subject to judicial
review in accordance with chapter 7 of such title.
(C) Standards for levels of civil penalty.--The
President may by regulation provide standards for
establishing levels of civil penalty under this
paragraph based upon the seriousness of the violation,
the culpability of the violator, and the violator's
record of cooperation with the Government in disclosing
the violation.
(g) Annual Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the President shall
report to the Congress on the implementation and enforcement of this
section and on additional steps taken by the United States to bring
about the termination of the Arab League boycott of Israel and to
encourage Arab League states to normalize their relations with Israel.
(h) Definition.--In this section, the term ``United States
person''--
(1) means--
(A) any United States resident or national;
(B) any domestic concern (including any permanent
domestic establishment of any foreign concern); and
(C) any foreign subsidiary or affiliate (including
any permanent foreign establishment) of any domestic
concern that is controlled in fact by such domestic
concern, as determined under regulations of the
President; but
(2) does not include an individual resident outside the
United States who is employed by a person other than a person
described in paragraph (1).
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