50 U.S.C. § 4842: Foreign boycotts

Summary

The President must make rules that stop U.S. people from helping foreign countries enforce boycotts against countries friendly to the United States. Under those rules, a U.S. person may not, if they mean to support such a boycott: refuse to do business with people or companies from the boycotted country; refuse to hire or treat someone worse because of their race, religion, sex, or national origin; give out information about a person’s race, religion, sex, or national origin; give information about someone’s business ties with the boycotted country; report whether someone belongs to or gives money to charities that support the boycotted country; or honor a letter of credit that has conditions banned by the rules. The rules will allow some exceptions for following import, export, shipping, carrier, document, immigration, and local-law requirements, and for U.S. residents abroad who must obey the laws of the country where they live. But those exceptions cannot be used to allow racial or religious discrimination or to give racial or religious information. The rules also cover attempts to evade them. Anyone who gets a boycott request must report it to the Secretary, say if they will comply, and the report will be public except for certain sensitive commercial details; summaries will be sent to the Secretary of State. Federal rules override any state or local laws on this matter.

Title 50, §4842

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(a)Prohibitions and exceptions

(1)Prohibitions

For the purpose of implementing the policies set forth in section 4841 of this title, the President shall issue regulations prohibiting any United States person, with respect to that person’s activities in the interstate or foreign commerce of the United States, from taking or knowingly agreeing to take any of the following actions with intent to comply with, further, or support any boycott fostered or imposed by any foreign country, against a country which is friendly to the United States and which is not itself the object of any form of boycott pursuant to United States law or regulation:

(A)Refusing, or requiring any other person to refuse, to do business with or in the boycotted country, with any business concern organized under the laws of the boycotted country, with any national or resident of the boycotted country, or with any other person, pursuant to an agreement with, a requirement of, or a request from or on behalf of the boycotting country. The mere absence of a business relationship with or in the boycotted country with any business concern organized under the laws of the boycotted country, with any national or resident of the boycotted country, or with any other person, does not indicate the existence of the intent required to establish a violation of regulations issued to carry out this subparagraph.

(B)Refusing, or requiring any other person to refuse, to employ or otherwise discriminating against any United States person on the basis of race, religion, sex, or national origin of that person or of any owner, officer, director, or employee of such person.

(C)Furnishing information with respect to the race, religion, sex, or national origin of any United States person or of any owner, officer, director, or employee of such person.

(D)Furnishing information about whether any person has, has had, or proposes to have any business relationship (including a relationship by way of sale, purchase, legal or commercial representation, shipping or other transport, insurance, investment, or supply) with or in the boycotted country, with any business concern organized under the laws of the boycotted country, with any national or resident of the boycotted country, or with any other person which is known or believed to be restricted from having any business relationship with or in the boycotting country. Nothing in this subparagraph shall prohibit the furnishing of normal business information in a commercial context as defined by the Secretary.

(E)Furnishing information about whether any person is a member of, has made contributions to, or is otherwise associated with or involved in the activities of any charitable or fraternal organization which supports the boycotted country.

(F)Paying, honoring, confirming, or otherwise implementing a letter of credit which contains any condition or requirement compliance with which is prohibited by regulations issued pursuant to this paragraph, and no United States person shall, as a result of the application of this paragraph, be obligated to pay or otherwise honor or implement such letter of credit.

(2)Exceptions

Regulations issued pursuant to paragraph (1) shall provide exceptions for— (A)

(B)complying or agreeing to comply with import and shipping document requirements with respect to the country of origin, the name of the carrier and route of shipment, the name of the supplier of the shipment or the name of the provider of other services, except that no information knowingly furnished or conveyed in response to such requirements may be stated in negative, blacklisting, or similar exclusionary terms, other than with respect to carriers or route of shipment as may be permitted by such regulations in order to comply with precautionary requirements protecting against war risks and confiscation;

(C)complying or agreeing to comply in the normal course of business with the unilateral and specific selection by a boycotting country, or national or resident thereof, of carriers, insurers, suppliers of services to be performed within the boycotting country or specific goods which, in the normal course of business, are identifiable by source when imported into the boycotting country;

(D)complying or agreeing to comply with export requirements of the boycotting country relating to shipments or transshipments of exports to the boycotted country, to any business concern of or organized under the laws of the boycotted country, or to any national or resident of the boycotted country;

(E)compliance by an individual or agreement by an individual to comply with the immigration or passport requirements of any country with respect to such individual or any member of such individual’s family or with requests for information regarding requirements of employment of such individual within the boycotting country; and

(F)compliance by a United States person resident in a foreign country or agreement by such person to comply with the laws of that country with respect to his activities exclusively therein, and such regulations may contain exceptions for such resident complying with the laws or regulations of that foreign country governing imports into such country of trademarked, trade named, or similarly specifically identifiable products, or components of products for his own use, including the performance of contractual services within that country, as may be defined by such regulations.

(3)Special rules

Regulations issued pursuant to paragraphs (2)(C) and (2)(F) shall not provide exceptions from paragraphs (1)(B) and (1)(C).

(4)Rule of construction

Nothing in this subsection may be construed to supersede or limit the operation of the antitrust or civil rights laws of the United States.

(5)Application

This section shall apply to any transaction or activity undertaken, by or through a United States person or any other person, with intent to evade the provisions of this section as implemented by the regulations issued pursuant to this subsection, and such regulations shall expressly provide that the exceptions set forth in paragraph (2) shall not permit activities or agreements (expressed or implied by a course of conduct, including a pattern of responses) otherwise prohibited, which are not within the intent of such exceptions.

(b)Foreign policy controls

(1)In general

In addition to the regulations issued pursuant to subsection (a), regulations issued under subchapter I to carry out the policies set forth in section 4811(2)(D) of this title shall implement the policies set forth in this section.

(2)Requirements

Such regulations shall require that any United States person receiving a request for the furnishing of information, the entering into or implementing of agreements, or the taking of any other action referred to in subsection (a) shall report that fact to the Secretary, together with such other information concerning such request as the Secretary may require for such action as the Secretary considers appropriate for carrying out the policies of that section. Such person shall also report to the Secretary whether such person intends to comply and whether such person has complied with such request. Any report filed pursuant to this paragraph shall be made available promptly for public inspection and copying, except that information regarding the quantity, description, and value of any goods or technology to which such report relates may be kept confidential if the Secretary determines that disclosure thereof would place the United States person involved at a competitive disadvantage. The Secretary shall periodically transmit summaries of the information contained in such reports to the Secretary of State for such action as the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary, considers appropriate for carrying out the policies set forth in section 4841 of this title.

(c)Preemption

The provisions of this section and the regulations issued pursuant thereto shall preempt any law, rule, or regulation of any of the several States or the District of Columbia, or any of the territories or possessions of the United States, or of any governmental subdivision thereof, which law, rule, or regulation pertains to participation in, compliance with, implementation of, or the furnishing of information regarding restrictive trade practices or boycotts fostered or imposed by foreign countries against other countries friendly to the United States.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Subchapter I, referred to in subsec. (b)(1), was in the original “part I”, meaning part I (§§ 1751–1768) of subtitle B of title XVII of div. A of Pub. L. 115–232, known as the Export Controls Act of 2018, which is classified principally to subchapter I of this chapter. For complete classification of part I to the Code, see section 1751 of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as a

Short Title

note under section 4801 of this title and Tables.

Amendments

2021—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 116–283 substituted “(2)(D)” for “(1)(D)” in reference to section 4811(2)(D) of this title.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2021 Amendment Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title X, § 1081(d), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3873, provided that the amendment made by section 1081(d)(10) is effective as of Aug. 13, 2018, and as if included in Pub. L. 115–232.

§4842 Foreign Boycotts