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2001
Cheney,
Powell, USA*Engage and NFTC on the Same Page
Statements critical of sanctions made earlier this year
by top Administration officials, including Vice President Cheney and
Secretary of State Powell, are fueling a stepped-up effort by USA*Engage
and NFTC, among other corporations and industry groups, to block congressional
renewal of the Iran-Libya sanctions, reports Peter Stone in The National
Journal. "Our overall philosophy is that being engaged with a country
is better than running away," says Don Deline, USA*Engage Chairman.
Bush
Says Iran, Libya Sanctions to Stay
President Bush said he has no immediate plan to remove
economic sanctions on Iran or Libya, although a White House task force
has raised the possibility of lifting those sanctions as a way of increasing
U.S. access to oil, according to the Washington Post.
Cheney
Panel Seeks Review Of Sanctions
The Washington Post reports that an influential energy
task force headed by Vice President Cheney is considering lifting some
economic sanctions against Iran, Libya, and Iraq as part of a plan to
increase America's oil supply.
Pro-Cuba
Stance
A majority of Americans support doing business with Cuba
and allowing travel to the island, reports the Miami Herald.
Support
for Ending Sanctions
The National Journal's Peter Stone reports on efforts to support ending
the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) when it comes up for reauthorization
in August, 2001. In the article, industry groups, including USA Engage,
note that many U.S. allies do business in Libya and Iran, putting U.S.
companies at a distinct disadvantage.
US
Policy in the Wind
The Christian Science Monitor reports that recent
statements by Bush and Powell may indicate a dramatic shift in US sanctions
policy.
Supporters
of Food Sales to Cuba More Hopeful That Regulations Will Not Inhibit
Exports
In its headline story, this week's Cuba
Trader reports that "Supporters of Food Sales to Cuba More Hopeful
That Regulations Will Not Inhibit Exports" Reporting that the Treasury
Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control may play a reduced role
in implementation of the law, Cuba Trader states that "supporters of
last year's Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act are more
hopeful this week that the Bush Administration will not adopt restrictive
implementing regulations for the law, which is partly aimed at allowing
U.S. companies to export farm products to Cuba."
ExxonMobil
bid in Kazakhstan
The New York Times reported that the threat of U.S. sanctions was one
of the key factors that prevented Exxon Mobil from winning its bid to
manage the exploration of a major oil field in Kazakhstan.
"After weeks of jockeying for position by its members,
the consortium preparing to undertake a huge oil field development in
the Caspian Sea made the surprising choice of AGIP S.p.A. of Italy,
the smallest of four candidates, as the company that will manage the
project.
AGIP will take the reins of a project that has planned
spending of about $20 billion over several decades to drill 150 to 200
production wells in a nature reserve and build related operations like
treatment plants and pipelines.
Two factors were said by people close to the negotiations
to have hobbled Exxon Mobil's vigorous campaign to be selected. One
was the United States economic sanctions against Iran, which would have
prevented Exxon Mobil from recommending to its partners that a pipeline
be built through Iran to the Persian Gulf, considered the most economical
of several routes under consideration."
Colin
Powell urges anti-sanctions movement
Associated Press writer George Gedda reports in a wire service story
today that "the anti-sanctions movement now has a formidable ally: Secretary
of State Colin Powell."
Of sanctions, Powell said: "I would encourage the Congress
to stop for a while. .. stop, look and listen before you impose a sanction...I
would encourage self-discipline on the part of the Congress; ... when
you're mad about something, or when there is a particular constituent
interest, please stop, count to 10, call me, let me come up, let's talk
about it before you slap another bureautcratic process on me."
Gedda also acknowledges that the leader in the fight
against sanctions is USA*Engage.
End
to Sanctions, Says Powell
The Los Angeles Times reports that Secretary of State Colin Powell may
"launch a quiet revolution in American diplomacy by proposing to
scrap many, maybe even most, of the punitive sanctions imposed by the
United States."
Clinton
Waives Cuba Trade Restrictions; Bush May Boost Pressure
Bloomberg reports that President Bill Clinton waived for another six
months part of a trade law that allows U.S. citizens and companies to
sue foreign firms that use assets seized by Fidel Castro's government
in Cuba.
Pro-Sanctions
Group Will Counter Efforts to Ease Cuba Embargo in 2001
For the last four years, USA-Engage has promoted an idea
that has become conventional wisdom in Washington - that unilateral
economic sanctions are ineffective and counterproductive to US interests.
According to the latest issue of Cuba Trader, a new coalition
will soon be launched to challenge that conventional wisdom.
Nussle
states his case for committee chairmanship
In an article about Rep. Jim Nussle's (R-Iowa) hopes to chair the House
Budget Committee, the Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, Iowa) mentioned his A+
score on the USA*Engage Congressional Report Card among the congressman's
credetials.
2000
Containment's
Last Stand
An article in the latest Washington Quarterly, "Containment's Last
Stand," pointed out that US sanctions policies have failed to bring
about a change in undesireable regimes in Cuba, Iran, Iraq and other
sanctioned nations. The article said establishing a road map for
sanctioned countries to follow would make it more likely for the
US to lift unilateral sanctions, as would an overall policy of engagement.
Castaņeda's
Appointment Irks the Right ... Post-Castro Era ... Plan Colombia Stalled
A story in the Washington Post said the Council on Foreign
Relations is urging the next US President to prepare for the post-Castro
era in Cuba. The Council released a report urging a lifting of US travel
restrictions to Cuba, increased commercial ties, and ties with Cuba's
military.
U.N.,
Cuba Urge U.S. to End Embargo
The Washington Post reported that on November 9, the United Nations
voted overwhelmingly in favor of a non-binding resolution urging the
U.S. to lift its embargo against Cuba. The resolution also criticized
a U.S. law that discourages foreign companies from investing in Cuba.
1999
The
Impact of Sanctions on American Interests in the Middle East
May/June Edition, Middle East Insight, Archie Dunham, President & CEO
of Conoco
"Today, the United States has imposed sanctions on Iran, Libya, Syria,
Iraq, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, India, and numerous other countries. All but
those on Iraq are unilateral. And yet, the United States government tells
industry to go forth and be competitive. How?"
1998
Lessons
of Iranian Missile Programs for U.S. Nonproliferation Policy
Spring-Summer Edition, The Nonproliferation Review, Aaron Karp
"Engaging Iran, developing a meaningful bilateral dialogue strong enough
to address delicate subjects like proliferation and rich enough to offer
useful tradeoffs...may be essential if the Iranian challenge is to be
controlled."
"Economic Sanctions: An Emerging Business Menace"
April 1998 The Journal of the National Association for Business Economics
"The United States is clearly the world's most active sanctions-imposing
country, much to the detriment of our firms that participate in world
markets."
"The Americas: Drugs, Latin America and the United States"
February 7, 1998 The Economist
"There must be a better way. This is drug certification month in Washington.
Before March 1st, President Clinton has to decide which foreign countries
he labels as reliable allies in the war against drugs and which not.
Under American law, he has the right - as with the Helms-Burton law
- to impose lesser or greater penalties on those that fail the test."
"A Blessing for Cuba -- and A Gamble for Fidel"
February 2, 1998 Business Week
"Until recently, few U.S. companies were willing to risk the ire of
the Cuban exile community by publicly opposing the embargo. But that's
changing, too. 'There's a convergence of interests, and the Pope's visit
is clearly the catalyst,' says William C. Lane, director of governmental
affairs for Caterpillar Inc. He's also chairman of USA Engage, whose
650 members oppose unilateral sanctions. The Pope's visit ''will encourage
the business community to speak out to urge a change in policy toward
Cuba,' Lane adds. 'Lifting the embargo against food and medicine would
be a good first step.'"
"Let's Treat Iran Like China"
January 1998, Planet Politics
"The subject of this column is Iran, but I take as my text a phrase
that came leaping out of the verbiage surrounding last October's summit
between Bill Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zemin. "Engagement
doesn't mean endorsement," intoned Secretary of State Madeleine Albright."
1997
"Washington Discovers Christian Persecution"
December 21, 1997 The New York Times Magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg
"A year ago, it was barely on the public agenda. Now, an unlikely coalition
of advocates has turned the human rights of Christians worldwide into
this year's cause - and a wedge issue that could divide the Republican
Party."
"Sanctioning Madness"
November/December 1997 Foreign Affairs, Richard N. Haass
"Economic sanctions are fast becoming the United States' policy tool
of choice. A 1997 study by the National Association of Manufacturers
listed 35 countries targeted by new American sanctions from 1993 to
1996 alone. What is noteworthy, however, is not just the frequency with
which sanctions are used but their centrality; economic sanctions are
increasingly at the core of U.S. foreign policy."
"Embargoes
that endanger health"
29 November 1997, The British Medical Journal
"If all else fails you can starve your enemy out. Or let disease, unchecked,
take its toll."
"Doctors
have moral imperative to call for end to embargo on Cuba."
29 November 1997, The British Medical Journal
"The editorial from the New England Journal of Medicine on which the
news article was based adds that 'economic sanctions are, at their core,
a war against public health. ... Thus, as physicians, we have a moral
imperative to call for the end of sanctions."
"Sanctions Won't Stop Religious Persecution. Trade Will"
September 22, 1997, Business Week Online Commentary, Howard Gleckman
"Funny how things change. Nearly two decades ago, conservatives ridiculed
President Jimmy Carter for linking human rights and foreign policy.
Today, many of the same folks are leading an effort to use U.S. diplomatic
and economic clout against nations that engage in religious persecution."
"Commentary: The Wrong Way to Strike at Religious Persecution"
September 29, 1997, Business Week, Robert M. Orr, Jr.
"Last year was no bell ringer for religious freedom. In July, mobs burned
Christian churches in Indonesia. A 72-year-old woman was jailed in Singapore
for having Jehovah's Witnesses' literature. And Chinese authorities
raided scores of church groups that were meeting in private homes."
"Sanctions with political aims are self defeating"
August 1997, The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan Journal,
Robert M. Orr, Jr.
"American foreign policy in a historical sense has not been without
its sanctimony. In recent years, in particular, we have witnessed a
proliferation of government commercial actions designed to address political
questions. They have almost always failed. What's more, they have often
provided our competitors with a winning hand in the global commercial
poker game. In such cases we are not only shooting ourselves in the
foot but often in the leg or stomach as well."
"Inside Washington: Enemies List"
26 July 1997, National Journal
"The Cold War is over, but American public officials still find no shortage
of foreign powers to berate. Since 1993, lawmakers at the federal, state
and local levels have proposed or enacted 185 unilateral econoic sanctions
against 42 countries."
"50 Different Departments of State"
July 1997, The Export Practitioner, Steven Spear
"President Teddy Roosevelt, in 1902, articulated a foreign policy principle
that has served subsequent administrations well: "Speak softly and carry
a big stick." These days, though, Roosevelt might find it difficult
to coin such a pithy phrase for clubbing pesky foreign adversaries into
submission. In a trend that threatens to undermine the White House's
authority to negotiate trade agreements and alienate US allies at the
same time, US states are approving their own foreign policy initiatives.
Thus, a variation on Roosevelt's time-tested utterance has emerged:
'Speak loudly and carry 50 small truncheons.'"
"Sanctioning Burma, Stick with engagement"
8 May 1997, Far Eastern Economic Review
"Of the many arguments against economic sanctions, the one that we have
always found the most persuasive is the simplest: They don't work. The
threat of sanctions, of course, has worked to squeeze concessions out
of countries desperate for business, but in this they represent the
economic equivalent of Mutual Assured Destruction. In other words, sanctions
work only as a bluff. Once invoked, everyone loses."
"Europe Shows Muscle in This Trade Tussle"
5 May 1997, Business Week
"Clinton could feel the heat from Senator Jesse A. Helms (R-N.C.) and
other hard-liners if he appears to be too soft on "pariah" countries.
But rising U.S. business concern about the costs of unilateral trade
actions could help Clinton fend off such pressures. In April, 465 multinational
companies and trade groups formed a coalition, *USA ENGAGE*, to actively
oppose such sanctions. "Unilateral sanctions are almost always ineffective
-- and always end up hurting American business and American workers,"
says James E. Perella, chairman of the *NATIONAL FOREIGN TRADE COUNCIL*
and CEO of equipment maker Ingersoll-Rand Co."
"Business and Foreign Policy"
May/June 1997, Foreign Affairs
Jeffrey E. Garten
"Throughout most of American history, commercial interests have played
a central role in foreign policy, and vice versa. During the next few
decades the interaction between them will become more intense, more important,
more difficult to manage, and more complicated for the American public
to understand. The second Clinton administration should lay out a framework
for this interaction to provide the necessary guide for setting priorities,
making difficult tradeoffs between economic and foreign policy issues,
and gaining popular support."
"The Toll In Iran"
May/June 1997, Foreign Affairs
Jahangir Amuzegar
"The American-driven sanctions against Iran were meant to transform
the "backlash state" into a law-abiding, cooperative, and constructive
member of the world community. Washington expected trade and investment
restrictions to cripple the productive base of the economy and curtail
Iran's ability to support international terrorism or acquire sophisticated
military hardware. Economic hardship and fiscal austerity would demoralize
the population and turn it against the regime. And domestic popular
discontent and external political isolation, Washington hoped, would
bring the clerical leadership to its senses."
"The Unconstitutionality of State and Local Enactments
in the United States Restricting Business Ties with Burma (Myanmar)"
May 1997, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
David Schmahmann, James Finch
"As a punitive measure against the military regime in Burma, state and
municipal governments in the United States have adopted laws penalizing
firms that conduct business in that nation. This Article analyzes the
validity of these statutes and ordinances under various provisions of
the U.S. Constitution."
The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters -- Human Costs of Economic Sanctions"
24 April 1997, The New England Journal of Medicine
"The sanctions may be aimed at Fidel Castro, but the victims are the
ordinary citizens of Cuba. Economic sanctions afflict civilians, not
soldiers and not the leaders of autocratic societies."
"Chicken Soup Diplomacy"
4 January 1997, The National Journal
Dick Kirschten
"When America slaps economic sanctions on hostile foreign regimes, friend
and foe alike often feel the sting. Business lobbyists, fearful of losing
lucrative overseas markets, are trying to convince Washington that unilateral
embargoes produce unwanted results more often than desired ones."
"The Impact of the Economic Crisis and the US Embargo on Health in Cuba"
January 1997, American Journal of Public Health
Richard Garfield, DrPH, RN and Sarah Santana
"We examined trends in health and health care in Cuba during the 1990s.
Only changes in the cost of medicine and the unavailability of medicines
produced in the United States can specifically be ascribed to the embargo.
However, there are temporal trends that further suggest that the embargo
contributes to increasing health threats and the decline of some health
indicators"
1996
"Sanctions: An Ineffective Tool of Diplomacy"
Fall 1996, Houston Business Review
"There are no less then 30 countries where the US is seeking to limit
commercial activity. Most of these are US unilateral sanctions, which
means the US is imposing economic sanctions on the offending country
without the support of other countries. When this occurs, business continues
in these countries -- with, or without us -- and as the international
city of the South, Houston should be concerned."
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