No U.S. Financing for Iran Act of 2022
This bill prohibits certain actions related to exports, imports, and financing with respect to Iran.
Specifically, the bill prohibits the Department of the Treasury from authorizing U.S. financial institution transactions in connection with the importation from or exportation to Iran of goods, services, or technology. This prohibition does not apply to the sale of agricultural commodities, food, medicine, or medical devices benefitting the civilian population of Iran.
The bill requires Treasury to instruct U.S. representatives to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to (1) oppose IMF financial assistance, and the allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDR), to Iran; and (2) seek to ensure that IMF member countries prohibit the exchange of SDR held by Iran. (The SDR is an international reserve asset maintained by the IMF based on contributions from IMF member countries. SDRs may be exchanged between member countries and may also be exchanged for currencies.)
Further, the bill provides statutory authority for the prohibition on Export-Import Bank financing with respect to Iran.
The bill's provisions shall be in effect until the earlier of (1) 30 days after the President certifies to Congress that Iran has ceased providing support for acts of international terrorism and is not a jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern, (2) 30 days after Treasury reports to Congress that termination of the provisions is necessary to comply with treaties ratified by the United States, or (3) 10 years after this bill's enactment.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7402 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7402
To prohibit the Secretary of the Treasury from authorizing certain
transactions by a United States financial institution in connection
with Iran, to prevent the International Monetary Fund from providing
financial assistance to Iran, to codify prohibitions on Export-Import
Bank financing for the Government of Iran, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 5, 2022
Mr. Huizenga introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the Secretary of the Treasury from authorizing certain
transactions by a United States financial institution in connection
with Iran, to prevent the International Monetary Fund from providing
financial assistance to Iran, to codify prohibitions on Export-Import
Bank financing for the Government of Iran, and for other purposes.
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 ``No U.S. Financing for Iran Act of
2022''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds as follows:
(1) In an April 2016 forum at the Council on Foreign
Relations, then-Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew stated
that, under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the
United States committed to lifting its nuclear sanctions, ``but
the U.S. financial system is not open to Iran, and that is not
something that is going to change''.
(2) In September 2016, however, the Department of the
Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued
licenses authorizing United States financial institutions ``to
engage in all transactions necessary to provide financing or
other financial services'' in order to effectuate the sale of
aircraft to flagship state-owned carrier Iran Air. The
Department had sanctioned Iran Air in 2011 for its use of
commercial passenger aircraft to transport rockets, missiles,
and other military cargo on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed
Forces Logistics, both of which had been sanctioned under
Executive Order No. 13382 for weapons proliferation-related
activities. In October 2017, the IRGC went on to be designated
under Executive Order No. 13224 for its support of the IRGC-
Qods Force, which has provided support to terrorist groups such
as Hizballah, Hamas, and the Taliban. Iran Air had also
delivered missile or rocket components to the Assad government
in Syria, which like Iran is classified as a state sponsor of
terrorism.
(3) Iran remains classified by the Department of the
Treasury as a jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern.
In 2019, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)
issued a final rule ``to prohibit the opening or maintaining of
correspondent accounts in the United States for, or on behalf
of, Iranian financial institutions, and the use of foreign
financial institutions' correspondent accounts at covered U.S.
financial institutions to process transactions involving
Iranian financial institutions''. This measure, according to
FinCEN, was related to important United States policy goals,
``namely to deny the Iranian regime resources to support
terrorism, develop nuclear weapons and/or the proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction, advance its ballistic missile
program, oppress the Iranian people, and fuel conflicts in
Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen and elsewhere''. At the time this
measure was imposed, FinCEN stated that it ``will further
protect the U.S. financial system from Iran by ensuring that
U.S. financial institutions are not exposed to Iran's ongoing
illicit finance activities, including its support for
international terrorism''.
(4) In February 2020, the Financial Action Task Force
(FATF) determined that Iran had not completed its action plan
to address strategic deficiencies in countering money
laundering, terrorist financing, and weapons proliferation. The
FATF therefore returned Iran to its ``black list'' and renewed
its call for countries to apply countermeasures against Iran in
order to protect the international financial system.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON AUTHORIZATIONS FOR UNITED STATES FINANCIAL
INSTITUTIONS.
The Secretary of the Treasury may not authorize a transaction by a
U.S. financial institution (as defined under section 561.309 of title
31, Code of Federal Regulations) in connection with the importation
from or exportation to the Islamic Republic of Iran of any goods,
services, or technology, other than the sale of agricultural
commodities, food, medicine, or medical devices benefitting the
civilian population of Iran.
SEC. 4. OPPOSITION TO INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND ASSISTANCE.
The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States
Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund to--
(1) oppose the provision of financial assistance by the
Fund to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the allocation to the
Government of Iran of Special Drawing Rights; and
(2) seek to ensure that member countries of the Fund
prohibit the exchange of Special Drawing Rights held by the
Government of Iran.
SEC. 5. CODIFICATION OF EXPORT-IMPORT BANK PROHIBITION WITH RESPECT TO
IRAN.
Section 2(b) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C.
635(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(14) Prohibition on Financing for Iran.--The Bank may not
guarantee, insure, or extend (or participate in an extension of) credit
in connection with any transaction, with respect to which credit
assistance from the Bank is first sought after the effective date of
this paragraph, for which a lender or obligor is the Government of Iran
or an entity owned or controlled by the Government of Iran.''.
SEC. 6. SUNSET.
This Act and the amendment made by this Act are hereby repealed
effective on the earliest of--
(1) the date that is 30 days after the date the President
of the United States certifies to the Congress that the
Government of Iran--
(A) has ceased providing support for acts of
international terrorism; and
(B) is not a jurisdiction of primary money
laundering concern, as described under section 5318A of
title 31, United States Code;
(2) the date that is 30 days after the date that the
Secretary of the Treasury reports to the Congress that
terminating the provisions of this Act is necessary to permit
the United States to comply with a treaty ratified by the
United States; or
(3) 10 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
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