Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Syria, 55851-55855 [2019-22849]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 201 (Thursday, October 17, 2019)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 55851-55855]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-22849]



[[Page 55849]]

Vol. 84

Thursday,

No. 201

October 17, 2019

Part III





The President





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Executive Order 13894--Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of 
Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Syria



Notice of October 15, 2019--Continuation of the National Emergency With 
Respect to Significant Narcotics Traffickers Centered in Colombia


                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 84 , No. 201 / Thursday, October 17, 2019 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

[[Page 55851]]

                Executive Order 13894 of October 14, 2019

                
Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain 
                Persons Contributing to the Situation in Syria

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, including the International Emergency Economic 
                Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the 
                National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) 
                (NEA), section 212(f) of the Immigration and 
                Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), and section 
                301 of title 3, United States Code,

                I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of 
                America, find that the situation in and in relation to 
                Syria, and in particular the recent actions by the 
                Government of Turkey to conduct a military offensive 
                into northeast Syria, undermines the campaign to defeat 
                the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, endangers 
                civilians, and further threatens to undermine the 
                peace, security, and stability in the region, and 
                thereby constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat 
                to the national security and foreign policy of the 
                United States. I hereby declare a national emergency to 
                deal with that threat. I hereby determine and order:

                Section 1. (a) All property and interests in property 
                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 any United States 
                person of the following persons are blocked and may not 
                be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise 
                dealt in:

(i) any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation 
with the Secretary of State:

  (A) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have directly or 
indirectly engaged in, or attempted to engage in, any of the following in 
or in relation to Syria:

(1) actions or policies that further threaten the peace, security, 
stability, or territorial integrity of Syria; or

(2) the commission of serious human rights abuse;

  (B) to be a current or former official of the Government of Turkey;

  (C) to be any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of the Government 
of Turkey;

  (D) to operate in such sectors of the Turkish economy as may be 
determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the 
Secretary of State;

  (E) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, 
material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in 
support of, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked 
pursuant to this order; or

  (F) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act 
for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and 
interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.

                    (b) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this 
                section apply except to the extent provided by 
                statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or 
                licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and 
                notwithstanding any contract entered into or any 
                license or permit granted before the date of this 
                order.

[[Page 55852]]

                Sec. 2. (a) The Secretary of State, in consultation 
                with the Secretary of the Treasury and other officials 
                of the U.S. Government as appropriate, is hereby 
                authorized to impose on a foreign person any of the 
                sanctions described in subsections (b) and (c) of this 
                section, upon determining that the person, on or after 
                the date of this order:

(i) is responsible for or complicit in, has directly or indirectly engaged 
in, or attempted to engage in, or financed, any of the following:

  (A) the obstruction, disruption, or prevention of a ceasefire in northern 
Syria;

  (B) the intimidation or prevention of displaced persons from voluntarily 
returning to their places of residence in Syria;

  (C) the forcible repatriation of persons or refugees to Syria; or

  (D) the obstruction, disruption, or prevention of efforts to promote a 
political solution to the conflict in Syria, including:

(1) the convening and conduct of a credible and inclusive Syrian-led 
constitutional process under the auspices of the United Nations (UN);

(2) the preparation for and conduct of UN-supervised elections, pursuant to 
the new constitution, that are free and fair and to the highest 
international standards of transparency and accountability; or

(3) the development of a new Syrian government that is representative and 
reflects the will of the Syrian people;

(ii) is an adult family member of a person designated under subsection 
(a)(i) of this section; or

(iii) is responsible for or complicit in, or has directly or indirectly 
engaged in, or attempted to engage in, the expropriation of property, 
including real property, for personal gain or political purposes in Syria.

                    (b) When the Secretary of State, in accordance with 
                the terms of subsection (a) of this section, has 
                determined that a person meets any of the criteria 
                described in that subsection and has selected one or 
                more of the sanctions set forth below to impose on that 
                person, the heads of relevant departments and agencies, 
                in consultation with the Secretary of State, as 
                appropriate, shall ensure that the following actions 
                are taken where necessary to implement the sanctions 
                selected by the Secretary of State:

(i) agencies shall not procure, or enter into a contract for the 
procurement of, any goods or services from the sanctioned person; or

(ii) the Secretary of State shall direct the denial of a visa to, and the 
Secretary of Homeland Security shall exclude from the United States, any 
alien that the Secretary of State determines is a corporate officer or 
principal of, or a shareholder with a controlling interest in, a sanctioned 
person.

                    (c) When the Secretary of State, in accordance with 
                the terms of subsection (a) of this section, has 
                determined that a person meets any of the criteria 
                described in that subsection and has selected one or 
                more of the sanctions set forth below to impose on that 
                person, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation 
                with the Secretary of State, shall take the following 
                actions where necessary to implement the sanctions 
                selected by the Secretary of State:

(i) prohibit any United States financial institution that is a U.S. person 
from making loans or providing credits to the sanctioned person totaling 
more than $10,000,000 in any 12-month period, unless such person is engaged 
in activities to relieve human suffering and the loans or credits are 
provided for such activities;

(ii) prohibit any transactions in foreign exchange that are subject to the 
jurisdiction of the United States and in which the sanctioned person has 
any interest;

(iii) prohibit any transfers of credit or payments between banking 
institutions or by, through, or to any banking institution, to the extent 
that

[[Page 55853]]

such transfers or payments are subject to the jurisdiction of the United 
States and involve any interest of the sanctioned person;

(iv) block all property and interests in property 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 any United States person 
of the sanctioned person, and provide that such property and interests in 
property may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise 
dealt in;

(v) prohibit any United States person from investing in or purchasing 
significant amounts of equity or debt instruments of the sanctioned person;

(vi) restrict or prohibit imports of goods, technology, or services, 
directly or indirectly, into the United States from the sanctioned person; 
or

(vii) impose on the principal executive officer or officers, or persons 
performing similar functions and with similar authorities, of the 
sanctioned person the sanctions described in subsections (c)(i)-(c)(vi) of 
this section, as selected by the Secretary of State.

                    (d) The prohibitions in subsections (b) and (c) of 
                this section apply except to the extent provided by 
                statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or 
                licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and 
                notwithstanding any contract entered into or any 
                license or permit granted before the date of this 
                order.

                Sec. 3. (a) The Secretary of the Treasury, in 
                consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby 
                authorized to impose on a foreign financial institution 
                the sanctions described in subsection (b) of this 
                section upon determining that the foreign financial 
                institution knowingly conducted or facilitated any 
                significant financial transaction for or on behalf of 
                any person whose property and interests in property are 
                blocked pursuant to section 1 of this order.

                    (b) With respect to any foreign financial 
                institution determined by the Secretary of the 
                Treasury, in accordance with this section, to meet the 
                criteria set forth in subsection (a) of this section, 
                the Secretary of the Treasury may prohibit the opening, 
                and prohibit or impose strict conditions on the 
                maintaining, in the United States of a correspondent 
                account or a payable-through account by such foreign 
                financial institution.
                    (c) The prohibitions in subsection (b) of this 
                section apply except to the extent provided by 
                statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or 
                licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and 
                notwithstanding any contract entered into or any 
                license or permit granted before the date of this 
                order.

                Sec. 4. The unrestricted immigrant and nonimmigrant 
                entry into the United States of aliens determined to 
                meet one or more of the criteria in subsection 1(a) or 
                2(a) of this order, or aliens for which the sanctions 
                under subsection 2(b)(ii) have been selected, would be 
                detrimental to the interests of the United States, and 
                the entry of such persons into the United States, as 
                immigrants or nonimmigrants, is hereby suspended, 
                except where the Secretary of State determines that the 
                entry of the person into the United States would not be 
                contrary to the interests of the United States, 
                including when the Secretary so determines, based on a 
                recommendation of the Attorney General, that the 
                person's entry would further important United States 
                law enforcement objectives. In exercising this 
                responsibility, the Secretary of State shall consult 
                the Secretary of Homeland Security on matters related 
                to admissibility or inadmissibility within the 
                authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security. Such 
                persons shall be treated in the same manner as persons 
                covered by section 1 of Proclamation 8693 of July 24, 
                2011 (Suspension of Entry of Aliens Subject to United 
                Nations Security Council Travel Bans and International 
                Emergency Economic Powers Act Sanctions). The Secretary 
                of State shall have the responsibility for implementing 
                this section pursuant to such conditions and procedures 
                as the Secretary has established or may establish 
                pursuant to Proclamation 8693.

[[Page 55854]]

                Sec. 5. I hereby determine that the making of donations 
                of the types of articles specified in section 203(b)(2) 
                of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)) by, to, or for the 
                benefit of any person whose property and interests in 
                property are blocked pursuant to section 1 of this 
                order would seriously impair my ability to deal with 
                the national emergency declared in this order, and I 
                hereby prohibit such donations as provided by section 1 
                of this order.

                Sec. 6. The prohibitions in sections 1 and 2 of this 
                order include:

                    (a) the making of any contribution or provision of 
                funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of 
                any person whose property and interests in property are 
                blocked pursuant to this order; and
                    (b) the receipt of any contribution or provision of 
                funds, goods, or services from any such person.

                Sec. 7. (a) Any transaction that evades or avoids, has 
                the purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation 
                of, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set 
                forth in this order is prohibited.

                    (b) Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the 
                prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.

                Sec. 8. For the purposes of this order:

                    (a) The term ``entity'' means a partnership, 
                association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, 
                subgroup, or other organization;
                    (b) the term ``foreign financial institution'' 
                means any foreign entity that is engaged in the 
                business of accepting deposits, making, granting, 
                transferring, holding, or brokering loans or credits, 
                or purchasing or selling foreign exchange, securities, 
                commodity futures or options, or procuring purchasers 
                and sellers thereof, as principal or agent. The term 
                includes depository institutions, banks, savings banks, 
                money service businesses, trust companies, securities 
                brokers and dealers, commodity futures and options 
                brokers and dealers, forward contract and foreign 
                exchange merchants, securities and commodities 
                exchanges, clearing corporations, investment companies, 
                employee benefit plans, dealers in precious metals, 
                stones, or jewels, and holding companies, affiliates, 
                or subsidiaries of any of the foregoing. The term does 
                not include the international financial institutions 
                identified in 22 U.S.C. 262r(c)(2), the International 
                Fund for Agricultural Development, the North American 
                Development Bank, or any other international financial 
                institution so notified by the Secretary of the 
                Treasury;
                    (c) the term ``knowingly,'' with respect to 
                conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means that a 
                person has actual knowledge, or should have known, of 
                the conduct, the circumstance, or the result;
                    (d) the term ``person'' means an individual or 
                entity;
                    (e) the term ``United States person'' or ``U.S. 
                person'' means any United States citizen, permanent 
                resident alien, entity organized under the laws of the 
                United States or any jurisdiction within the United 
                States (including foreign branches), or any person in 
                the United States; and
                    (f) the term ``Government of Turkey'' means the 
                Government of Turkey, any political subdivision, 
                agency, or instrumentality thereof, or any person owned 
                or controlled by or acting for or on behalf of the 
                Government of Turkey.

                Sec. 9. For those persons whose property and interests 
                in property are blocked pursuant to this order who 
                might have a constitutional presence in the United 
                States, I find that because of the ability to transfer 
                funds or other assets instantaneously, prior notice to 
                such persons of measures to be taken pursuant to this 
                order would render those measures ineffectual. I 
                therefore determine that for these measures to be 
                effective in addressing the national emergency declared 
                in this order, there need be no prior notice of a 
                listing or determination made pursuant to this order.

                Sec. 10. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation 
                with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to 
                take such actions, including the promulgation

[[Page 55855]]

                of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers 
                granted to the President by IEEPA as may be necessary 
                to carry out the purposes of this order. The Secretary 
                of the Treasury may, consistent with applicable law, 
                redelegate any of these functions within the Department 
                of the Treasury. All departments and agencies of the 
                United States shall take all appropriate measures 
                within their authority to implement this order.

                Sec. 11. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation 
                with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to 
                submit the recurring and final reports to the Congress 
                on the national emergency declared in this order, 
                consistent with section 401(c) of the NEA (50 U.S.C. 
                1641(c)), and section 204(c) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 
                1703(c)).

                Sec. 12. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed 
                to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.
                    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, 
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    October 14, 2019.

[FR Doc. 2019-22849
Filed 10-16-19; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F0-P