International Trade Law News

The Senate Finance Committee today held a hearing on S. 970, the Iran Counter-Proliferation Act of 2007. This bill, which has 70 co-sponsors, seeks to tighten and expand economic sanctions on Iran and to deter foreign countries from cooperating with Iran. In addition to banning all imports from Iran (it is currently permissible to import certain Iranian food (including pistachios) and carpets), the most controversial provision of the bill (section 8) would impose sanctions on U.S. parent companies if their foreign subsidiaries engaged in prohibited transactions with Iran.

The witnesses at the hearing included (click on the link to review the PDF versions of their testimony):

Phillip Gordon, Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy, The Brookings Institution;

William A. Reinsch, President, National Foreign Trade Council;

Orde Kittrie, Visiting Associate Professor, University of Maryland School of Law and Professor of Law, The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University;

Danielle Pletka, Vice President, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute.

Labels: Congress, Sanctions; Iran