House Passes Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum Act
(November 3, 2023)
H.R. 3774, the Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum Act or the SHIP Act, was passed by the House of Representatives by a vote of 342-69. This bill requires the president to impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions against foreign persons that knowingly transport, process, refine, or otherwise deal in petroleum and petroleum products originating in Iran. These sanctions also extend to certain foreign persons associated with the sanctioned individual, such as adult family members and any entities owned or controlled by the sanctioned individual.
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3774
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To impose additional sanctions with respect to the importation or
facilitation of the importation of petroleum products from Iran, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum
Act'' or the ``SHIP Act''.
SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States--
(1) to deny Iran the ability, by limiting Iran's export of
petroleum and petroleum products, to--
(A) engage in destabilizing activities;
(B) support international terrorism; or
(C) fund the development and acquisition of weapons
of mass destruction and weapons delivery systems;
(2) to deny Iran funds to oppress and commit human rights
violations against the Iranian people assembling to peacefully
redress the Iranian regime;
(3) to fully enforce sanctions against those entities which
provide support to the Iranian energy sector; and
(4) to counter Iran's actions to finance and facilitate the
participation of foreign terrorist organizations in ongoing
conflicts and illicit activities due to the threat such actions
pose to the vital national interests of the United States.
SEC. 3. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO IRANIAN PETROLEUM.
(a) In General.--On and after the date that is 90 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and except as provided in subsection
(e)(2), the President shall impose the sanctions described in
subsection (c) with respect to each foreign person that the President
determines, on or after such date of enactment, engages in an activity
described in subsection (b).
(b) Activities Described.--A foreign person engages in an activity
described in this subsection if the foreign person--
(1) owns or operates a foreign port and has knowingly
facilitated or accommodated at least 1 designated vessel in
landing at such port on or after the date of enactment of this
Act for the purpose of transporting Iranian crude oil;
(2) knowingly transports, offloads, or otherwise engages in
transactions involving petroleum or petroleum products,
including petrochemicals, originating from Iran;
(3) knowingly owns or operates a vessel used to conduct
ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum or petroleum products,
including petrochemicals, originating from Iran;
(4) owns or operates a refinery that knowingly processes,
refines, or otherwise engages in transactions involving
petroleum or petroleum products, including petrochemicals,
originating from Iran;
(5) is an adult family member of a foreign person described
in any of paragraphs (1) through (4), unless the President
determines there is clear and convincing evidence that such
adult family member has disassociated themselves from the
foreign person described in such paragraph and has not assisted
such foreign person in concealing assets; or
(6) is owned, as such term is defined by section 510.411 of
title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, by a foreign person
described in any of paragraphs (1) through (5) that has been
designated for such conduct.
(c) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions described in this
subsection with respect to a foreign person described in subsection (a)
are the following:
(1) Blocking of property.--The President shall exercise all
of the powers granted to the President under the International
Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the
extent necessary to block and prohibit all transactions in
property and interests in property of the foreign person if
such property and interests in property are in the United
States, come within the United States, or are or come within
the possession or control of a United States person.
(2) Ineligibility for visas, admission, or parole.--
(A) Visas, admission, or parole.--An alien
described in subsection (a) is--
(i) inadmissible to the United States;
(ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other
documentation to enter the United States; and
(iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted
or paroled into the United States or to receive
any other benefit under the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
(B) Current visas revoked.--
(i) In general.--An alien described in
subsection (a) is subject to revocation of any
visa or other entry documentation regardless of
when the visa or other entry documentation is
or was issued.
(ii) Immediate effect.--A revocation under
clause (i) shall take effect immediately and
automatically cancel any other valid visa or
entry documentation that is in the alien's
possession.
(C) Exceptions.--Sanctions under this paragraph
shall not apply with respect to an alien if admitting
or paroling the alien into the United States is
necessary--
(i) to permit the United States to comply
with the Agreement regarding the Headquarters
of the United Nations, signed at Lake Success
June 26, 1947, and entered into force November
21, 1947, between the United Nations and the
United States, or other applicable
international obligations; or
(ii) to carry out or assist law enforcement
activity in the United States.
(3) Penalties.--The penalties provided for in subsections
(b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a person
that violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or
causes a violation of this section or any regulations
promulgated to carry out this section to the same extent that
such penalties apply to a person that commits an unlawful act
described in section 206(a) of that Act.
(d) Rule of Construction.--For purposes of determinations under
subsection (a) that a foreign person engaged in activities described in
subsection (b), a foreign person shall not be determined to know that
petroleum or petroleum products originated from Iran if such person
relied on a certificate of origin or other documentation confirming
that the origin of the petroleum or petroleum products was a country
other than Iran, unless such person knew or had reason to know that
such documentation was falsified.
(e) Implementation; Regulations.--
(1) In general.--The President may exercise all authorities
under sections 203 and 205 of the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) for purposes of
carrying out this section.
(2) Deadline for regulations.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President
shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary for the
implementation of this Act.
(3) Notification to congress.--Not later than 10 days
before the prescription of regulations under paragraph (2), the
President shall brief and provide written notification to the
appropriate congressional committees regarding--
(A) the proposed regulations; and
(B) the specific provisions of this Act that the
regulations are implementing.
(f) Waiver.--
(1) In general.--The President may, on a case-by-case basis
and for periods not to exceed 180 days each, waive the
application of sanctions imposed with respect to a foreign
person under this section if the President certifies to the
appropriate congressional committees, not later than 15 days
before such waiver is to take effect, that the waiver is vital
to the national interests of the United States.
(2) Special rule.--The President shall not be required to
impose sanctions under this section with respect to a foreign
person described in subsection (a) if the President certifies
in writing to the appropriate congressional committees that the
foreign person--
(A) is no longer engaging in activities described
in subsection (b); or
(B) has taken and is continuing to take
significant, verifiable steps toward permanently
terminating such activities.
(f) Termination.--The authorities provided by this section shall
cease to have effect on and after the date that is 30 days after the
date on which the President certifies to the appropriate congressional
committees that--
(1) the Government of Iran no longer repeatedly provides
support for international terrorism as determined by the
Secretary of State pursuant to--
(A) section 1754(c)(1)(A) of the Export Control
Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4318(c)(1)(A));
(B) section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371);
(C) section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act (22
U.S.C. 2780); or
(D) any other provision of law; and
(2) Iran has ceased the pursuit, acquisition, and
development of, and verifiably dismantled, its nuclear,
biological, and chemical weapons, ballistic missiles, and
ballistic missile launch technology.
SEC. 4. REPORT ON IRANIAN PETROLEUM AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS EXPORTS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter until the date described
in subsection (d), the Administrator of the Energy Information
Administration shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees
a report describing Iran's growing exports of petroleum and petroleum
products, that includes the following:
(1) An analysis of Iran's exports and sale of petroleum and
petroleum products, including--
(A) an estimate of Iran's petroleum export and sale
revenue per year since 2018;
(B) an estimate of Iran's petroleum export and sale
revenue to China per year since 2018;
(C) the amount of petroleum and crude oil barrels
exported per year since 2018;
(D) the amount of petroleum and crude oil barrels
exported to China per year since 2018;
(E) the amount of petroleum and crude oil barrels
exported to countries other than China per year since
2018;
(F) the average price per petroleum and crude oil
barrel exported per year since 2018; and
(G) the average price per petroleum and crude oil
barrel exported to China per year since 2018.
(2) An analysis of Iran's labeling practices of exported
petroleum and petroleum products.
(3) A description of companies involved in the exporting
and sale of Iranian petroleum and petroleum products.
(4) A description of ships involved in the exporting and
sale of Iranian petroleum and petroleum products.
(5) A description of ports involved in the exporting and
sale of Iranian petroleum and petroleum products.
(b) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be submitted
in unclassified form but may include a classified annex.
(c) Publication.--The unclassified portion of the report required
by subsection (a) shall be posted on a publicly available website of
the Energy Information Administration.
(d) Termination.--The requirement to submit reports under this
section shall be terminated on the date on which the President makes
the certification described in section 3(f).
SEC. 5. EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF GOODS.
(a) In General.--The authorities and requirements to impose
sanctions authorized under this Act shall not include the authority or
requirement to impose sanctions on the importation of goods.
(b) Good Defined.--In this section, the term ``good'' means any
article, natural or man-made substance, material, supply or
manufactured product, including inspection and test equipment, and
excluding technical data.
SEC. 6. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.
In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on the
Judiciary, and the Committee on Financial Services of the House
of Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on
the Judiciary, and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs of the Senate.
Passed the House of Representatives November 3, 2023.
Attest:
Clerk.
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