§1702. Presidential authorities

(a)(1) At the times and to the extent specified in section 1701 of this title, the President may, under such regulations as he may prescribe, by means of instructions, licenses, or otherwise-

(A) investigate, regulate, or prohibit-

(i) any transactions in foreign exchange,

(ii) transfers of credit or payments between, by, through, or to any banking institution, to the extent that such transfers or payments involve any interest of any foreign country or a national thereof,

(iii) the importing or exporting of currency or securities; and

(B) investigate, regulate, direct and compel, nullify, void, prevent or prohibit, any acquisition, holding, withholding, use, transfer, withdrawal, transportation, importation or exportation of, or dealing in, or exercising any right, power, or privilege with respect to, or transactions involving, any property in which any foreign country or a national thereof has any interest;

by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

(2) In exercising the authorities granted by paragraph (1), the President may require any person to keep a full record of, and to furnish under oath, in the form of reports or otherwise, complete information relative to any act or transaction referred to in paragraph (1) either before, during, or after the completion thereof, or relative to any interest in foreign property, or relative to any property in which any foreign country or any national thereof has or has had any interest, or as may be otherwise necessary to enforce the provisions of such paragraph. In any case in which a report by a person could be required under this paragraph, the President may require the production of any books of account, records, contracts, letters, memoranda, or other papers, in the custody or control of such person.

(3) Compliance with any regulation, instruction, or direction issued under this chapter shall to the extent thereof be a full acquittance and discharge for all purposes of the obligation of the person making the same. No person shall be held liable in any court for or with respect to anything done or omitted in good faith in connection with the administration of, or pursuant to and in reliance on, this chapter, or any regulation, instruction, or direction issued under this chapter.

(b) The authority granted to the President by this section does not include the authority to regulate or prohibit, directly or indirectly-

(1) any postal, telegraphic, telephonic, or other personal communication, which does not involve a transfer of anything of value;

(2) donations, by persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, of articles, such as food, clothing, and medicine, intended to be used to relieve human suffering, except to the extent that the President determines that such donations (A) would seriously impair his ability to deal with any national emergency declared under section 1701 of this title, (B) are in response to coercion against the proposed recipient or donor, or (C) would endanger Armed Forces of the United States which are engaged in hostilities or are in a situation where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances; or ¹

(3) the importation from any country, or the exportation to any country, whether commercial or otherwise, regardless of format or medium of transmission, of any information or informational materials, including but not limited to, publications, films, posters, phonograph records, photographs, microfilms, microfiche, tapes, compact disks, CD ROMs, artworks, and news wire feeds. The exports exempted from regulation or prohibition by this paragraph do not include those which are otherwise controlled for export under section 2404 of the Appendix to this title, or under section 2405 of the Appendix to this title to the extent that such controls promote the nonproliferation or antiterrorism policies of the United States, or with respect to which acts are prohibited by chapter 37 of title 18; or

(4) any transactions ordinarily incident to travel to or from any country, including importation of accompanied baggage for personal use, maintenance within any country including payment of living expenses and acquisition of goods or services for personal use, and arrangement or facilitation of such travel including nonscheduled air, sea, or land voyages.

( Pub. L. 95–223, title II, §203, Dec. 28, 1977, 91 Stat. 1626 ; Pub. L. 100–418, title II, §2502(b)(1), Aug. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 1371 ; Pub. L. 103–236, title V, §525(c)(1), Apr. 30, 1994, 108 Stat. 474 .)

Amendments

1994-Subsec. (b)(3), (4). Pub. L. 103–236 added pars. (3) and (4) and struck out former par. (3) which read as follows: "the importation from any country, or the exportation to any country, whether commercial or otherwise, of publications, films, posters, phonograph records, photographs, microfilms, microfiche, tapes, or other informational materials, which are not otherwise controlled for export under section 2404 of the Appendix to this title or with respect to which no acts are prohibited by chapter 37 of title 18."

1988-Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 100–418 added par. (3).

Effective Date of 1994 Amendment

Section 525(c)(2) and (3) of Pub. L. 103–236 provided that:

"(2) The amendments made by paragraph (1) to section 203(b)(3) of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act [50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(3)] apply to actions taken by the President under section 203 of such Act before the date of enactment of this Act [Apr. 30, 1994] which are in effect on such date and to actions taken under such section on or after such date.

"(3) Section 203(b)(4) of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (as added by paragraph (1)) shall not apply to restrictions on the transactions and activities described in section 203(b)(4) in force on the date of enactment of this Act, with respect to countries embargoed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act [50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.] on the date of enactment of this Act."

Effective Date of 1988 Amendment

Section 2502(b)(2) of Pub. L. 100–418 provided that: "The amendments made by paragraph (1) [amending this section] apply to actions taken by the President under section 203 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act [this section] before the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 23, 1988] which are in effect on such date of enactment, and to actions taken under such section on or after such date of enactment."

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in section 1701 of this title; title 22 sections 6004, 7108; title 28 section 1610.

¹ So in original. The word "or" probably should not appear.