White House and Iran to Clash on Iran Sanctions

Daniel Dombey
04/13/2010
Financial Times
Original Source: – HYPERLINK http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2010/0302/Bluster-at-UN-Human-Rights-Council-as-US-and-Iran-trade-barbs http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2c2c4c02-4696-11df-9713-00144feab49a.html

The Obama administration and Congress are gearing up for a battle over sanctions against Iran, with Capitol Hill resisting White House pressure over measures the administration says could antagonise allies and complicate its foreign policy.
Congress, which returned from recess yesterday, will begin final negotiations on the legislation in coming days. The administration says the bill risks falling foul of World Trade Organisation rules and could damage President Barack Obama's efforts to build a pro-sanctions coalition at the United Nations.
Taking the bill behind closed doors and quietly gutting it is not a politically feasible trajectory at this point, countered a congressional aide. There is strong bipartisan support in both chambers for this bill, as is, and there will be strong resistance to any effort to water down its substance . . . I don't think the administration is in a very strong position right now to come and dictate terms to Congress.
The bill would toughen sanctions laws against non-US companies investing in Iran's energy sector. While the current law has never been enforced, the bill would reduce the White House's scope to grant waivers and would extend sanctions to companies involved in providing Iran with refined oil, including insurance groups underwriting shipments.
Such extra-territorial legislation could violate the US's commitments under the WTO, although Washington could try to invoke a little-used national security clause under trade laws.
Because Iran imports more than a third of the refined oil that it uses, some advocates have identified sanctions on imports as a silver bullet against Tehran, a view that the administration disputes.
Different versions of the bill have already passed the House of Representatives and the Senate by overwhelming margins, leaving the two chambers to hammer out their differences before they cast their final votes on the legislation.
At the same time, members of Congress have resisted administration proposals to make the legislation more flexible by inserting an exemption for companies from closely cooperating countries in the effort to put pressure on Iran.
The idea that we would have 'co-operating countries' in total waiver and no assurance from the state department that every country except Iran would not be listed as a co-operating country makes a further mockery of the legislative process and the role of Congress in foreign affairs, said Brad Sherman, a California Congressman.
Mr Sherman expects the Senate and House to agree a final version this month. Others on Capitol Hill say progress this month could be the main factor in deciding whether to grant an exemption of any kind for co-operating countries.
The administration says the UN sanctions effort should take priority, particularly since Russia and China have recently shown greater willingness to discuss specific measures, after months of lobbying by Washington.
Multilateral sanctions have a bigger bite and a bigger sting, said a senior administration official. The Obama administration also rejects congressional criticism that it has failed to enforce the current law. Hillary Clinton, secretary of state, has asked all US embassies - and US intelligence agencies - to collect information about businesses' dealings with Iran.
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