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07 May 2003

Treasury Lifts Some U.S. Sanctions Against Iraq

(Action will spur rebuilding and humanitarian relief, Snow says) (330)
Washington -- The United States has suspended a series of U.S.
economic sanctions imposed on Iraq after it invaded Kuwait in 1990, to
help in the rebuilding of Iraq and to speed the delivery of
humanitarian aid to Iraqis in need, Treasury Secretary John Snow says.
Speaking to reporters May 7, Snow said that Treasury's Office of
Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) will issue four new general licenses
"permitting many transactions that were previously prohibited."
Treasury's action will allow U.S.-funded humanitarian aid to flow to
Iraq, and will also permit privately funded humanitarian activities in
that country, even if the activities are "not specifically in support
of U.S. government objectives."
Personal remittances will also be allowed, under which people in the
United States may send up to $500 a month in cash to any person in
Iraq.
Snow noted that an estimated 143,000 Iraqis live in the United States
and said that if half of that population sent the maximum amount to
Iraq, an additional $30 million would flow into the Iraqi economy each
month. "The potential benefit to the Iraqi people is immense," he
said.
The export of certain goods controlled for national security reasons
will also be allowed, but will require a special government license,
Snow said.
"Lifting the sanctions is an essential step in providing for the
humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people and for commencing the
reconstruction process," Snow said. "The regime that was once the
target of our economic sanctions has been extinguished. Our mission
now is to rebuild Iraq and provide much-needed humanitarian aid."
The U.N. Security Council also imposed sanctions against Iraq in 1990,
but modified them in 1996 to create the "oil-for-food" program
allowing Iraq to sell approved amounts of oil to pay for humanitarian
goods. That program expires June 3.
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)