(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit any contract or other financial transaction with any nongovernmental humanitarian organization in Burma.

(f) EXCEPTIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The prohibitions and restrictions
described in subsections (b) and (c) shall not apply to medicine, medical equipment or supplies, food or feed, or any other form of humanitarian assistance provided to Burma.
(2) REGULATORY EXCEPTIONS.—For the following purposes, the Secretary of State may, by regulation, authorize exceptions to the prohibition and restrictions described in subsection (a), and the Secretary of the Treasury may, by regulation, authorize exceptions to the prohibitions and restrictions described in subsections
(b) and (c)—
(A) to permit the United States and Burma to operate their diplomatic missions, and to permit the United States
to conduct other official United States Government business in Burma;
(B) to permit United States citizens to visit Burma; and
(C) to permit the United States to comply with the United Nations Headquarters Agreement and other
applicable international agreements.

(g) PENALTIES.—Any person who violates any prohibition or restriction imposed pursuant to subsection (b) or (c) shall be subject to the penalties under section 6 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as for a violation under that Act.

(h) TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS.—The sanctions imposed under subsection (a), (b), or (c) shall apply until the President determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that the
SPDC has—
(1) unconditionally released all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi and other members of the National League for Democracy;
(2) entered into a substantive dialogue with democratic forces led by the National League for Democracy and the ethnic minorities of Burma on transitioning to democratic government under the rule of law; and
(3) allowed humanitarian access to populations affected by armed conflict in all regions of Burma.

(i) WAIVER.—The President may waive the sanctions described in subsections (b) and (c) if the President determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that such waiver is in the national interest of the United States.

SEC. 6. AMENDMENTS TO THE BURMESE FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY
ACT OF 2003.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 (Public Law 108–61; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended by inserting after section 3 the following new section:

‘‘SEC. 3A. PROHIBITION ON IMPORTATION OF JADEITE AND RUBIES FROM BURMA AND ARTICLES OF JEWELRY CONTAINING JADEITE OR RUBIES FROM BURMA.

‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional committees’ means—
‘‘(A) the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives;
and
‘‘(B) the Committee on Finance and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
‘‘(2) BURMESE COVERED ARTICLE.—The term ‘Burmese covered article’ means—
‘‘(A) jadeite mined or extracted from Burma;
‘‘(B) rubies mined or extracted from Burma; or
‘‘(C) articles of jewelry containing jadeite described in subparagraph (A) or rubies described in subparagraph (B).
‘‘(3) NON-BURMESE COVERED ARTICLE.—The term ‘non-Burmese covered article’ means—
‘‘(A) jadeite mined or extracted from a country other than Burma;
‘‘(B) rubies mined or extracted from a country other than Burma; or
‘‘(C) articles of jewelry containing jadeite described in subparagraph (A) or rubies described in subparagraph (B).
‘‘(4) JADEITE; RUBIES; ARTICLES OF JEWELRY CONTAINING JADEITE OR RUBIES.—
‘‘(A) JADEITE.—The term ‘jadeite’ means any jadeite classifiable under heading 7103 of the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘HTS’).
‘‘(B) RUBIES.—The term ‘rubies’ means any rubies classifiable under heading 7103 of the HTS.
‘‘(C) ARTICLES OF JEWELRY CONTAINING JADEITE OR RUBIES.—The term ‘articles of jewelry containing jadeite or rubies’ means—
‘‘(i) any article of jewelry classifiable under heading 7113 of the HTS that contains jadeite or rubies; or
‘‘(ii) any article of jadeite or rubies classifiable under heading 7116 of the HTS.
‘‘(5) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘United States’, when used in the geographic sense, means the several States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.

‘‘(b) PROHIBITION ON IMPORTATION OF BURMESE COVERED ARTICLES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, until such time as the President determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that Burma has met the conditions described in section 3(a)(3), beginning 60 days after the date of the enactment of the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE (Junta’s Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2008, the President shall prohibit the importation into the United States of any Burmese covered article.
‘‘(2) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The President is authorized to, and shall as necessary, issue such proclamations, regulations, licenses, and orders, and conduct such investigations, as may be necessary to implement the prohibition under paragraph (1).
‘‘(3) OTHER ACTIONS.—Beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall take all appropriate actions to seek the following:
‘‘(A) The issuance of a draft waiver decision by the Council for Trade in Goods of the World Trade Organization
granting a waiver of the applicable obligations of the United States under the World Trade Organization with respect
to the provisions of this section and any measures taken to implement this section.
‘‘(B) The adoption of a resolution by the United Nations General Assembly expressing the need to address trade
in Burmese covered articles and calling for the creation and implementation of a workable certification scheme for
non-Burmese covered articles to prevent the trade in Burmese covered articles.

‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR IMPORTATION OF NON-BURMESE COVERED ARTICLES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), until such time as the President determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that Burma has met the conditions described in section 3(a)(3), beginning 60 days after the date of the enactment of the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE (Junta’s Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2008, the President shall require as a condition for the importation into
the United States of any non-Burmese covered article that—
‘‘(A) the exporter of the non-Burmese covered article has implemented measures that have substantially the
same effect and achieve the same goals as the measures described in clauses (i) through (iv) of paragraph (2)(B)
(or their functional equivalent) to prevent the trade in Burmese covered articles; and
‘‘(B) the importer of the non-Burmese covered article agrees—
‘‘(i) to maintain a full record of, in the form of reports or otherwise, complete information relating to
any act or transaction related to the purchase, manufacture, or shipment of the non-Burmese covered article
for a period of not less than 5 years from the date of entry of the non-Burmese covered article; and
‘‘(ii) to provide the information described in clause (i) within the custody or control of such person to
the relevant United States authorities upon request.

‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President may waive the requirements of paragraph (1) with respect to the importation
of non-Burmese covered articles from any country with respect to which the President determines and certifies
to the appropriate congressional committees has implemented the measures described in subparagraph (B) (or
their functional equivalent) to prevent the trade in Burmese covered articles.
‘‘(B) MEASURES DESCRIBED.—The measures referred to in subparagraph (A) are the following:
‘‘(i) With respect to exportation from the country of jadeite or rubies in rough form, a system of verifiable
controls on the jadeite or rubies from mine to exportation demonstrating that the jadeite or rubies were
not mined or extracted from Burma, and accompanied by officially-validated documentation certifying the
country from which the jadeite or rubies were mined or extracted, total carat weight, and value of the jadeite
or rubies.
‘‘(ii) With respect to exportation from the country of finished jadeite or polished rubies, a system of
verifiable controls on the jadeite or rubies from mine to the place of final finishing of the jadeite or rubies
demonstrating that the jadeite or rubies were not mined or extracted from Burma, and accompanied by
officially-validated documentation certifying the country from which the jadeite or rubies were mined
or extracted.
‘‘(iii) With respect to exportation from the country of articles of jewelry containing jadeite or rubies, a
system of verifiable controls on the jadeite or rubies from mine to the place of final finishing of the article
of jewelry containing jadeite or rubies demonstrating that the jadeite or rubies were not mined or extracted
from Burma, and accompanied by officially-validated documentation certifying the country from which the
jadeite or rubies were mined or extracted.
‘‘(iv) Verifiable recordkeeping by all entities and individuals engaged in mining, importation, and exportation
of non-Burmese covered articles in the country, and subject to inspection and verification by authorized
authorities of the government of the country in accordance with applicable law.
‘‘(v) Implementation by the government of the country of proportionate and dissuasive penalties
against any persons who violate laws and regulations designed to prevent trade in Burmese covered articles.
‘‘(vi) Full cooperation by the country with the United Nations or other official international organizations
that seek to prevent trade in Burmese covered articles.

Next Page
[1]  [2]  [3]  [4]  [5]