January 26, 2010
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, business groups, write NSC, oppose Iran sanctions bills
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, National Association of Manufacturers and the National Foreign Trade Council have written National Security Advisor Jim Jones and National Economic Council Chairman Larry Summers opposing current Iran sanctions legislation passed in the House and under consideration in the Senate.
The groups say the Iran gas ban bill as passed in the House and a companion Senate bill under consideration would damage U.S. alliances and international trade, by mandating U.S. penalties on foreign firms that violate U.S. unilateral Iran sanctions:
"While we agree that preventing Iran from developing the capability to produce nuclear weapons is an urgent U.S. national security objective, the unilateral, extraterritorial, and overly broad approach of these bills would undercut rather than advance this critical objective," the letter from nine U.S. business groups says. "The history of similar efforts demonstrates that such a unilateral approach would provoke a negative response from our allies and would divert attention from an effective, coordinated response to Iran’s nuclear ambitions."
"Finally, the legislative proposals eliminate the discretion afforded the president," a point the administration has quietly made to key lawmakers it is working with to try to ensure any final bill worked out in conference gives the president discretion over when to impose sanctions.
European diplomats have recently said they are working closely with the administration to develop a list of targeted sanctions agreed on a multilateral basis. There will also be an effort to get a new UN Security Council resolution passed on Iran, although it's likely to be somewhat muted, given current Chinese opposition to further sanctions on Iran.
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