prohibition on compliance with foreign boycotts

prohibition on compliance with foreign boycotts Sec. 201. (a) The Export Administration Act of 1969 is amended by redesignating section 4A as section 4B and by inserting after section 4 the following new section: “foreign boycotts “Sec. 4A. (a) (1) For the purpose of implementing the policies set forth in section 3(5) (A) and (B), the President shall issue rules and regulations prohibiting any United States person, with respect to his activities in the interstate or foreign commerce of the United States, from taking or knowingly agreeing to take any of the following actions with intent to comply with, further, or support any boycott fostered or imposed by a foreign country against a country which is friendly to the United States and which is not itself the object of any form of boycott pursuant to United States law or regulation: “(A) Refusing, or requiring any other person to refuse, to do business with or in the boycotted country, with any business concern organized under the laws of the boycotted country, with any national or resident of the boycotted country, or with any other person, pursuant to an agreement with, a requirement of, or a request from or on behalf of the boycotting country. The mere absence of a business relationship with or in the boycotted country, with any business concern organized under the laws of the boycotted country, with any national or resident of the boycotted country, or with any other person, does not indicate the existence of the intent required to establish a violation of rules and regulations issued to carry out this subparagraph. “(B) Refusing, or requiring any other person to refuse, to employ or otherwise discriminating against any United States person on the basis of race, religion, sex, or national origin of that person or of any owner, officer, director, or employee of such person. “(C) Furnishing information with respect to the race, religion, sex, or national origin of any United States person or of any owner, officer, director, or employee of such person. “(D) Furnishing information about whether any person has, has had, or proposes to have any business relationship (including a relationship by way of sale, purchase, legal or commercial representation, shipping or other transport, insurance, investment, or supply) with or in the boycotted country, with any business concern organized under the laws of the, boycotted country, with any national or resident of the boycotted country, or with any other person which is known or believed to be restricted from having any business relationship with or in the boycotting country. Nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit the furnishing of normal business information in a commercial context as defined by the Secretary of Commerce. “(E) Furnishing information about whether any person is a member of, has made contributions to, or is otherwise associated with or involved in the activities of any charitable or fraternal organization which supports the boycotted country. 91 STAT. 245 “(F) Paying, honoring, confirming, or otherwise implementing a letter of credit which contains any condition or requirement compliance with which is prohibited by rules and regulations issued pursuant to this paragraph, and no United States person shall, as a result of the application of this paragraph, be obligated to pay or otherwise honor or implement such letter of credit. “(2) Rules and regulations issued pursuant to paragraph (1) shall provide exceptions for— “(A) complying or agreeing to comply with requirements (i) prohibiting the import of goods or services from the boycotted country or goods produced or services provided by any business concern organized under the laws of the boycotted country or by nationals or residents of the boycotted country, or (ii) prohibiting the shipment of goods to the boycotting country on a carrier of the boycotted country, or by a route other than that prescribed by the boycotting country or the recipient of the shipment; “(B) complying or agreeing to comply with import and shipping document requirements with respect to the country of origin, the name of the carrier and route of shipment, the name of the supplier of the shipment or the name of the provider of other services, except that no information knowingly furnished or conveyed in response to such requirements may be stated in negative, blacklisting, or similar exclusionary terms after the expiration of 1 year following the date of enactment of the Export Administration Amendments of 1977 other than with respect to carriers or route of shipment as may be permitted by such rules and regulations in order to comply with precautionary requirements protecting against war risks and confiscation; “(C) complying or agreeing to comply in the normal course of business with the unilateral and specific selection by a boycotting country, or national or resident thereof, of carriers, insurers, suppliers of services to be performed within the boycotting country or specific goods which, in the normal course of business, arc identifiable by source when imported into the boycotting country; “(D) complying or agreeing to comply with export requirements of the boycotting country relating to shipments or transshipments of exports to the boycotted country, to any business concern of or organized under the laws of the boycotted country, or to any national or resident of the boycotted country; “(E) compliance by an individual or agreement by an individual to comply with the immigration or passport requirements of any country with respect to such individual or any member of such individual’s family or with requests for information regarding requirements of employment of such individual within the boycotting country; and “(F) compliance by a United States person resident in a foreign country or agreement by such person to comply with the laws of that country with respect to his activities exclusively therein, and such rules and regulations may contain exceptions for such resident complying with the laws or regulations of that foreign country governing imports into such country of trademarked, trade-named, or similarly specifically identifiable products or components of products for his own use, including the performance of contractual services within that country, as may be defined by such rules and regulations. “(3) Rules and regulations issued pursuant to paragraphs (2) (C) and (2) (F) shall not provide exceptions from paragraphs (1)(B) and (1) (C). 91 STAT. 246 “(4) Nothing in this subsection may be construed to supersede or limit the operation of the antitrust or civil rights laws of the United States. “(5) Rules and regulations pursuant to this subsection shall be issued not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this section and shall be issued in final form and become effective not later than 120 days after they are first issued, except that (A) rules and regulations prohibiting negative certification may take effect not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, and (B) a grace period shall be provided for the application of the rules and regulations issued pursuant to this subsection to actions taken pursuant to a written contract or other agreement entered into on or before May 16, 1977. Such grace period shall end on December 31, 1978, except that the Secretary of Commerce may extend the grace period for not to exceed additional year in any case in which the Secretary finds that good faith efforts are being made to renegotiate the contract or agreement in order to eliminate the provisions which are inconsistent with the rules and regulations issued pursuant to paragraph (1). “(6) This Act shall apply to any transaction or activity undertaken, by or through a United States or other person, with intent to evade the provisions of this Act as implemented by the rules and regulations issued pursuant to this subsection, and such rules and regulations shall expressly provide that the exceptions set forth in paragraph (2) shall not permit activities or agreements (expressed or implied by a course of conduct, including a pattern of responses) otherwise prohibited, which are not within the intent of such exceptions. “(b) (1) In addition to the rules and regulations issued pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, rules and regulations issued under section 4(b) of this Act shall implement the policies set forth in section 3(5). “(2) Such rules and regulations shall require that any United States person receiving a request for the furnishing of information, the entering into or implementing of agreements, or the taking of any other action referred to in section 3(5) shall report that fact to the Secretary of Commerce, together with such other information concerning such request as the Secretary may require for such action as he may deem appropriate for carrying out the policies of that section. Such person shall also report to the Secretary of Commerce whether he intends to comply and whether he has complied with such request. Any report filed pursuant to this paragraph after the date of enactment of this section shall be made available promptly for public inspection and copying, except that information regarding the quantity, description, and value of any articles, materials, and supplies, including technical data and other information, to which such report relates may be kept confidential if the Secretary determines that disclosure thereof would place the United States person involved at a competitive disadvantage. The Secretary of Commerce shall periodically transmit summaries of the information contained in such reports to the Secretary of State, for such action as the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, may deem appropriate for carrying out the policies set forth in section 3(5) of this Act.”. (b) Section 4(b) (1) of such Act is amended by striking out the next to the last sentence. (c) Section 7(c) of such Act is amended by striking out “No” and inserting in lieu thereof “Except as otherwise provided by the third sentence of section 4A(b) (2) and by section 6(c) (2) (C) of this Act, no”.