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Businesses Press for US to Lift Libya Sanctions - UN Security Council - Global Policy Forum Businesses Press for US to Lift Libya Sanctions
By Edward Alden
New York Times
August 21, 2003With the United Nations poised to remove economic sanctions against Libya after a settlement in the Lockerbie bombing case, Washington will face new pressure to lift its own sanctions against the government of Muammer Gaddafi.
US business groups, led by oil companies that hold concessions in Libya, met this week to gear up efforts to persuade the administration of President George W. Bush to ease a trade ban that was imposed on Libya in 1986. "They have changed and we ought to recognise it with some reciprocal actions on our part," said William Reinsch, of the National Foreign Trade Council. Washington had refused to consider easing the sanctions until Libya accepted responsibility for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people.
But the deal announced last week could end that stalemate. The Libyan government yesterday began depositing more than $2.7bn (€2.4bn, £1.7bn) that could be paid out to the families of the bombing victims. Forty per cent of that amount will be distributed when the UN Security Council revokes multilateral sanctions against Libya, an action that is expected next week. Unless the US lifts its own sanctions within eight months, half would revert to Tripoli. Administration officials have so far opposed lifting US sanctions or removing Libya from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Critics say, however, the US is ignoring dramatic changes in Libya's behaviour, particularly in cutting links with terrorist groups. "The changes which have taken place in Libya in the past eight years have been enormous," said Oliver Miles, former UK ambassador to Libya and chairman of MEC International, a London consultancy. "It's been more than 20 years now since any Americans have had much direct knowledge of Libya. There's a great deal of ignorance." With the removal of the UN sanctions, he said, the US would be the only significant country maintaining commercial sanctions against Libya. The UK removed its own in 1999 after Libya agreed to turn over the two Lockerbie bombing suspects.
The commercial stakes for the US are substantial. Four US oil companies - Occidental, Amerada Hess, Conoco Phillips and Marathon - hold concessions that could eventually be revoked by Libya if the sanctions were not lifted. More importantly, Libya is considered one of the world's most promising sites for further oil exploration, with non-US companies now pursuing more than 100 exploration licences.
Critics of the Bush policy argue there are still bigger reasons to begin easing sanctions. An Atlantic Council report in April said Libya would be a test case for whether the US was willing to reward positive changes by once reviled regimes.
Business pressure alone is unlikely to sway the administration, particularly if the US families of the Lockerbie bombing victims continue to oppose easing the sanctions. But James Kreindler, whose New York law firm represents 120 of the families, said many would like to see the sanctions lifted if Libya took further steps to address US concerns.
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