For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 30, 2004
Text of a Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate
Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
Consistent with subsection 204(b) of the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1703(b) (IEEPA), I hereby report that I
have issued an Executive Order (the "order") in which I modify the
scope of the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 of
May 22, 2003, expanded in Executive Order 13315 of August 28, 2003, and
further modified in Executive Order 13350 of July 29, 2004. I have
determined that an additional threat exists with respect to which the
national emergency was declared and expanded in those Executive
Orders. I have also determined that steps taken in Executive Order
13303 to deal with the national emergency declared therein need to be
revised in light of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1483 of
May 22, 2003, and 1546 of June 8, 2004, respectively. I have enclosed
a copy of the order.
In Executive Order 13303 of May 22, 2003, I found that the threat
of attachment or other judicial process against the Development Fund
for Iraq, Iraqi petroleum and petroleum products and interests therein,
and proceeds, obligations, or any financial instruments of any nature
whatsoever arising from or related to the sale or marketing thereof,
and interests therein, obstructed the orderly reconstruction of Iraq,
the restoration and maintenance of peace and security in the country,
and the development of political, administrative, and economic
institutions in Iraq. I determined that this situation constituted an
unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign
policy of the United States, and I declared a national emergency to
deal with that threat.
Consistent with IEEPA, as amended, (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the
National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), section 5 of the
United Nations Participation Act, as amended (22 U.S.C. 287c) (UNPA),
and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, in Executive Order
13303 I ordered, inter alia, that unless licensed or otherwise
authorized pursuant to that order, any attachment, judgment, decree,
lien, execution, garnishment, or other judicial process is prohibited,
and shall be deemed null and void, with respect to the following:
(a) the Development Fund for Iraq, and
(b) all Iraqi petroleum and petroleum products, and interests
therein, and proceeds, obligations, or any other financial
instruments of any nature whatsoever arising from or related to
the sale or marketing thereof, and interests therein, in which
any foreign country or a national thereof has any interest,
that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the
United States, or that are or hereafter come within the
possession or control of United States persons.
Consistent with United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1483
and 1546, I have determined that the steps taken in Executive Order
13303 to deal with the emergency declared therein need to be revised so
that such steps do not apply with respect to any final judgment arising
out of a contractual obligation entered into by the Government of Iraq,
including any agency or instrumentality thereof, after June 30, 2004,
and so that, with respect to Iraqi petroleum and petroleum products and
interests therein, such steps shall apply only until title passes to
the initial purchaser.
The new order provides that protections granted by section 1 of
Executive Order 13303, as well as the protections granted by this order
to the property of the Central Bank of Iraq, do not apply with respect
to any final judgment arising out of a contractual obligation entered
into by the Government of Iraq, including any agency or instrumentality
thereof, after June 30, 2004.
In addition, the order modifies section 1 of Executive Order 13303
to provide that the protections granted therein to all Iraqi petroleum
and petroleum products, and interests therein, apply only until title
passes to the initial purchaser.
Furthermore, I now find that the threat of attachment or other
judicial process against the assets of the Central Bank of Iraq
constitutes one of the obstacles to the orderly reconstruction of Iraq,
the restoration and maintenance of peace and security in the country,
and the development of political, administrative, and economic
institutions in Iraq. I have determined that the scope of the national
emergency declared in Executive Order 13303, as expanded by Executive
Order 13315, and modified by Executive Order 13350, be further modified
to address this threat.
Consequently, the order modifies the actions taken to address the
national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303, as expanded by
Executive Order 13315, and further modified in Executive Order 13350,
by amending section 1 of Executive Order 13303 to extend the
protections granted therein against any attachment, judgment, decree,
lien, execution, garnishment, or other judicial process to any
accounts, assets, investments, or any other property of any kind owned
by, belonging to, or held by the Central Bank of Iraq, or held,
maintained, or otherwise controlled by any financial institution of any
kind in the name of, on behalf of, or otherwise for the Central Bank of
Iraq.
I have delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation
with the Secretary of State, the authority to take such actions,
including the promulgation of rules and regula-tions, to employ all
powers granted to the President by IEEPA and the UNPA as may be
necessary to carry out the purposes of this order. The Secretary of
the Treasury may redelegate any of these functions to other officers
and agencies of the United States consistent with applicable law. I
have directed all agencies of the United States Government to take all
appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions
of this order.
Sincerely,
GEORGE W. BUSH
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