June 15, 1999

The House of Representatives will vote today on a bill to restrict selective agricultural export embargoes. The bill, H.R. 17, has already been approved by the House Agriculture Committee and will be considered under the House's so-called "suspension calendar," reserved for less controversial measures.

Under the legislation, the President would have to notify Congress within five days of imposing a restriction on exports of agricultural commodities under pre-existing contracts. Congress would then be required to approve or disapprove the embargo within 100 days.

The measure is not a dramatic change in current economic sanctions policy. It applies only to embargoes that single out agricultural products – something that has seldom happened since the 1979 Soviet grain embargo. It also allows its provisions to be waived in case of war or a national emergency.

However, the bill is another indication that many members of Congress feel a renewed urgency to relax unilateral economic sanctions. The Senate Agriculture Committee recently approved legislation that would have the effect of ending current sanctions, including the Cuban embargo, but only with respect to agricultural products. In addition, Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC) has said the Foreign Relations Committee, which he chairs, will craft a broader-based sanctions bill later in the year.