U.S. to ease sanctions against Iran, Libya and Sudan
August 20, 1999 Web posted
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Clinton administration is preparing to allow
U.S. companies to sell food and medicine to three countries listed as terrorist
states - Iran, Libya and Sudan.
The regulations are expected to be issued soon and would allow U.S.
companies to obtain a license from the Treasury Department to sell food
and medicine to the three countries, a department official said Friday.
The regulations would not require congressional approval and would
take effect immediately unless otherwise stipulated, the official said,
speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official said the regulations are now going through an interagency
clearance process involving the Treasury, State, Commerce and Agriculture
departments.
The State Department announced the intended policy change in April.
At that time, officials said humanitarian aid would be exempted from
future sanctions. That change is not supposed to affect Iraq, North Korea
and Cuba, all sanctioned countries to which sales of certain items are
already permitted.
The Treasury official would not discuss details of the regulations.
It was not clear whether the policy change also would mean approval
for a pending Iranian request to buy more than $500 million worth of American
grain and sugar.
U.S. lawmakers from agricultural states as well as trade groups representing
rice, soybean, wheat, sugar beet, barley and other producers would like
to see Iran's request granted.
Some government experts have predicted that the policy change could
increase wheat and corn exports by 1 million tons.
The new policy is part of a broader attempt to overhaul the way the
United States imposes sanctions. The goal is to resort to unilateral sanctions
only after all other options, including diplomacy and multilateral sanctions,
have been exhausted.
When the State Department announced the policy change, officials said
that barring sales of food and medicine usually fails to hurt targeted
regimes while depriving American companies of export opportunities.
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