International Trade Law News

The House International Relations Committee's Subcommittee on Middle East and Central Asia will hold an open markup of H.R. 282, the Iran Freedom Support Act, on April 7, 2005 in room 2200 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

H.R. 282, which was introduced by Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and has more than 100 co-sponsors, would make it more difficult for the Administration to waive sanctions on companies determined to have violated the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) (codified at 50 U.S.C. 1701 note). ILSA, which was enacted in 1996 and renewed for five more years in 2001, sanctions foreign investment of more than $20 million in one year in Iran or Libya’s energy sector (although the Libya sanctions were lifted in April 2004). No sanctions have been imposed under ILSA to date.

H.R. 282 would codify U.S. sanctions on Iran until the President certified to the appropriate congressional committees that Iran has "permanently and verifiably dismantled its weapons of mass destruction programs and has committed to combating such weapons' proliferation." In addition, H.R. 282 would amend ILSA by: (1) eliminating the mandatory sanction provisions on Libya; (2) imposing mandatory sanctions on persons or entities that assisted Iran in acquiring or develop weapons of mass destruction or destabilizing types and numbers of conventional weapons; (3) authorize the Treasury Deparatment to investigate the sanctions to be imposed; (4) revising multilateral regime reporting requirements, including provisions respecting sanctions on individuals aiding Iranian petroleum development; (5) enlarging the scope of sanctionable entities; and (6) eliminating the sunset provision. H.R. 282 also authorizes the President to provide financial and political assistance to eligible foreign and domestic individuals and groups that support democracy in Iran and that are opposed to the Government of Iran.