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HR 3464 IH

To prohibit the importation of gum arabic from Sudan.

August 4, 2007

Ms. WATERS (for herself, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, and Mr. BERMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

To prohibit the importation of gum arabic from Sudan.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Stop Importing Gum Arabic from the Genocidal Government of Sudan Act'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:

(1) The President imposed comprehensive sanctions against Sudan on November 3, 1997, under Executive Order No. 13067.

(2) Congress passed legislation to allow for an exemption from sanctions against Sudan for the importation of gum arabic from Sudan, under section 1464 of the Tariff Suspension and Trade Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-476; 114 Stat. 2173-2174), which was signed into law on November 9, 2000.

(3) Prior to the passage of section 1464 of the Tariff Suspension and Trade Act of 2000, the United States gum arabic processing industry was already working with the United States Agency for International Development to develop alternative sources of gum arabic in countries that were not subject to United States sanctions.

(4) Section 1464(c) of the Tariff Suspension and Trade Act of 2000 required the President to utilize such authority as was available to the President to promote the development in countries other than Sudan of alternative sources of the highest grade of gum arabic of sufficient commercial quality to be utilized in products intended for human consumption.

(5) The United States gum arabic processing industry and United States companies that purchase gum arabic have had more than six years since the passage of section 1464 of the Tariff Suspension and Trade Act of 2000 to identify alternative sources of gum arabic in countries that are not subject to United States sanctions.

(6) The Government of Sudan has been carrying out a campaign of genocide against the people of the Darfur region of Sudan since 2003.

(7) More than 400,000 people have been killed and more than 2,500,000 people have been displaced in Darfur as a result of this ongoing genocide.

(8) In the 108th Congress, the House of Representatives adopted House Concurrent Resolution 467 on July 22, 2004, by a unanimous vote of 422-0, which declared that the atrocities unfolding in the Darfur region of Sudan are genocide.

(9) On September 21, 2004, President George W. Bush stated that the world is witnessing terrible suffering and horrible crimes in the Darfur region of Sudan, crimes the Government of the United States has concluded are genocide.

(10) On May 29, 2007, President George W. Bush affirmed that the Government of Sudan is complicit in the bombing, murder, and rape of innocent civilians in Darfur and again declared that these actions rightfully constitute genocide.

(11) If the United States is serious about opposing genocide in Darfur, the United States must enforce sanctions against Sudan that are comprehensive and without exemptions.

(12) The exemption from sanctions against Sudan for the importation of gum arabic from Sudan should be eliminated.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON IMPORTATION OF GUM ARABIC FROM SUDAN.

(a) Repeal- Section 1464 of the Tariff Suspension and Trade Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-476; 114 Stat. 2173-2174) is hereby repealed.

(b) Clerical Amendment- The table of contents in section 2 of such Act is amended by striking the item relating to section 1464.