TALKING POINTS: HAMILTON-CRANE-LUGAR
SANCTIONS REFORM BILL

Summary

• The Hamilton-Crane-Lugar Sanctions Reform bill seeks a more deliberative and disciplined approach to U.S. sanctions policy, so that such measures are driven by common sense, instead of being pushed to counter-productive ends by politics and emotion.

• U.S. sanctions policy is broken and needs to be fixed. Unilateral economic sanctions almost never help the people we want to help and almost always fail to bring about the actions we seek to promote. By acting alone, America only insures that its response is ineffective, since a target country can always circumvent a U.S. unilateral sanction by working with one of our competitors.

• Unilateral sanctions should be one of the last tools out of America's foreign policy toolbox, not the first. We need to take a harder look at alternatives, such as multilateral pressure on rogue regimes and more effective U.S. diplomacy.

• The indiscriminate use of unilateral sanctions is undermining America's international competitiveness and economic security. As the Soviet grain embargo showed, unilateral sanctions cause lasting damage to America's reputation as a reliable supplier. U.S. sanctions result in $15 billion to $19 billion annually in lost U.S. exports and deprive American workers of over 200,000 high-wage jobs.

• Unilateral sanctions should not be used indiscriminately as a one-size-fits-all solution to every international challenge, particularly when they are likely to be (1) counter-productive, (2) ineffective, and (3) costly from the standpoint of U.S. competitiveness.

• The Hamilton-Crane-Lugar bill provides for responsible, common-sense reform of U.S. sanctions policy. It does not prevent Congress or the Executive Branch from imposing any unilateral sanction. Instead, the bill would:
  • Establish a more disciplined and deliberative process for imposing unilateral U.S. sanctions, including greater consultation between Congress and the Executive Branch and consideration of alternatives, such as multilateral pressure and diplomatic initiatives.

  • Ensure that Congress and the Executive Branch have adequate information about the likely effectiveness and economic and humanitarian costs of a proposed sanction and have conducted a detailed analysis of whether the proposed sanction is the best tool for achieving U.S. objectives.

  • Establish regular reporting and sunset requirements, so that sanctions are terminated unless a continuing justification exists.

• The bill is prospective. It does not affect existing U.S. sanctions.

Key Elements of the Hamilton-Crane-Lugar Sanctions Reform Bill:

• The bill establishes a common sense procedural framework for consideration of future U.S. unilateral sanctions.

• Before a unilateral sanction is imposed, Congress and the President would be required to request information about, and report on, the following:
  • Is the proposed unilateral sanction is likely to be effective in achieving a clearly-defined U.S. objective?

  • What are the likely economic costs for American industry and agriculture, including any long-term damage to America's reputation as a reliable supplier?

  • Is there likely to be a serious backlash against other U.S. humanitarian, security, and foreign policy objectives, including damage to multilateral cooperation with key U.S. allies, whose support we need?

  • Have policy alternatives, such as multilateral initiatives or diplomacy, been tried and failed?

• These procedural requirements would apply to any Congressional Committee which reports out a sanctions bill for consideration by the House or Senate and to any unilateral sanction imposed by the President under existing sanctions authorities.

• The bill provides guidelines for future U.S. sanctions bills and initiatives, including:
  • Presidential Waiver Authority. The President should have flexibility to adjust the timing and extent of any unilateral sanction to maximize the likelihood of success, as well as clear authority to waive sanctions if they would be counter-productive.

  • Contract Sanctity. Existing contracts should be honored, unless there is a threat to U.S. security.

  • Agricultural Trade Compensation. America's farmers have borne a disproportionate burden under current U.S. sanctions policy. The Secretary of Agriculture would be authorized to boost export promotion programs whenever the U.S. sanctions a major agricultural export market in order to offset the ensuing losses to American farmers.

  • Sunset. The guidelines specify that Congressional and Executive Branch sanctions should sunset after 2 years (unless reauthorized), so that such measures are terminated unless a continuing justification exists.

• Reports. The Secretary of Agriculture would be required to prepare reports to the President and Congress regarding the likely impact of any proposed sanctions on U.S. agricultural exports and prepare contingency plans designed to offset the damage to American agriculture.

• The bill sets out principles to guide future U.S. sanctions policy, e.g. (1) U.S. food exports should not be used as a weapon, except in situations of armed conflict, (2) sanctions should be narrowly targeted to minimize harm to innocent civilians and children, and (3) the U.S. should continue to strongly oppose secondary boycotts, e.g. the Arab League Boycott of Israel.

• The U.S. International Trade Commission and the President would be responsible for preparing annual reports analyzing the cost of existing U.S. sanctions programs and whether they have achieved their objectives.

• The bill would apply only to a limited class of unilateral economic sanctions. For example, it would not apply to (1) multilateral export control regimes, such as those under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Wassenar, MTCR, Biological Weapons Convention, and Chemical Weapons Convention, (2) "trade-for-trade" retaliation against unfair foreign practices under the U.S. trade laws, such as Section 301 and AD/CVD, (3) the U.S. Munitions List, (4) multilateral sanctions where our allies have agreed to adopt "substantially equivalent measures," e.g. South Africa, and (5) actions under the Jackson-Vanik Amendment to the Trade Act of 1974.

• The Hamilton-Crane-Lugar Sanctions Reform bill would reform the U.S. sanctions decision-making process. It would not prevent the President or Congress from imposing sanctions whenever the foreign policy or national security interests of the United States so dictate. It seeks a more deliberative and disciplined approach to U.S. sanctions policy, so that such measures are driven by common sense, instead of being taken to counter- productive ends by politics and emotion.