White House Panel Weighs Lifting Sanctions on Iraq, Iran, Libya
By Blair Pethel
Washington, April 19 (Bloomberg) -- A Bush administration panel headed by Vice President Dick Cheney is weighing lifting some economic sanctions against Iran, Iraq and Libya to help secure the U.S. oil supply, Cheney's spokeswoman said.
Spokeswoman Juleanna Glover Weiss emphasized that the panel's work is still in progress and no final recommendations have been made.
The panel, which includes Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, Commerce Secretary Don Evans and Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, is ``working at a frenetic pace'' to complete the recommendations, Glover Weiss said.
``Until the president signs off on the report in its entirety, absolutely everything is subject to change,'' she said.
Glover Weiss said the panel hopes to complete its work ``later this spring.''
At issue are sanctions levied against Iran and Libya in the 1990s as a punishment for sponsoring terrorism, and against Iraq for its invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The sanctions ban U.S. companies from investing there and set limits on foreign corporate investment in an effort to choke off oil revenue to those countries.
The 1996 Iran-Libya Sanctions Act, which penalizes foreign companies if they invest more than $20 million in Iran's energy industry or more than $40 million in Libya's oil sector, expires in August. The oil industry is lobbying lawmakers to oppose the bill's renewal, said Susan Hahn at the American Petroleum Institute, which represents U.S. oil companies.
Halliburton
Cheney, who was chairman and chief executive of oilfield- services company Halliburton Co. before joining the administration, lobbied the Clinton administration while at Halliburton to lift the restrictions.
In a 1997 speech, he said the sanctions were ``just a feel-good policy'' that had little effect.
``Opinion leaders need to understand that to replace reserves, oil companies must work in countries very different from the U.S.'' he said at the time.
Glover Weiss said Cheney has no conflict of interest heading a panel that may recommend ending sanctions, a move that could benefit Halliburton.
``The vice president has no financial holdings in Halliburton whatsoever,'' she said. ``He has transferred over all his holdings, and he stands to get no benefit from Halliburton. He has severed all his financial ties.'' |
