Congressional Research Service Reports - 222 Matching Results
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- Global Climate Change: Selected Legal Questions About the Kyoto Protocol
- This report discusses the Kyoto Protocol and whether the United States is now legally bound by the Protocol, the legal implications of signing it, whether it could be implemented as an executive agreement without submission to the Senate, and whether the Protocol could be used as the legal basis for regulation of emissions even prior to ratification.
- Senate Consideration of Treaties
- No Description Available.
- Trade Promotion Authority (Fast-Track Authority for Trade Agreements): Background and Developments in the 107th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Terrorism, the Future, and U.S. Foreign Policy
- No Description Available.
- Terrorism and the Military's Role in Domestic Crisis Management: Background and Issues for Congress
- No Description Available.
- Cybercrime: The Council of Europe Convention
- Forty-three countries, including the United States, have signed the Council of Europe’s Convention on Cybercrime of November 2001. The U.S. Senate ratified the Convention on August 3, 2006. The Convention seeks to better combat cybercrime by harmonizing national laws, improving investigative abilities, and boosting international cooperation. Supporters argue that the Convention will enhance deterrence, while critics counter it will have little effect without participation by countries in which cybercriminals operate freely. Others warn it will endanger privacy and civil liberties.
- European Security: The Debate in NATO and the European Union
- This report reviews progress within NATO to develop a European Security and Defense Identity (ESDI), and the initiative within the European Union to create a common European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP). The report considers both European and U.S. perspectives on these developments. It will be updated as events warrant.
- U.N. Security Council Consideration of North Korea's Violations of its Nuclear Treaty Obligations
- Since early 1993, North Korea has refused to allow inspections of its nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This is contrary to North Korea's obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and its 1992 safeguards agreement with the Agency. Following North Korean obstruction of an inspection in March 1994, the IAEA referred the issue to the U.N. Security Council. The Clinton Administration is set to propose that the Council act against North Korea, possibly including the imposition of sanctions. However, the opposition of China to sanctions and the ambivalent attitude of Russia has resulted in a decision by the Administration to propose initial action by the Council short of sanctions. Measures short of sanctions could end up as the totality of U.N. action.
- South Korea: U.S. Defense Obligations
- U.S. defense obligations to South Korea are contained in the U.S.-South Korean Mutual Defense Treaty, signed in 1953 and ratified in 1954. Under Article m of the treaty, the United States would "act to meet" an attack on South Korea "in accordance with its [U.S.] constitutional processes." At the time of ratification, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee did not define specifically the respective roles of the President and Congress in any decision to act militarily in accord with constitutional processes. The Committee stressed that Article did not set a requirement for an automatic American military response but that it did give the United States a wide range of possible actions
- The Middle East Peace Talks
- No Description Available.
- The Middle East Peace Talks
- No Description Available.
- The Middle East Peace Talks
- No Description Available.
- Palestinians and Middle East Peace: Issues for the United States
- No Description Available.
- Palestinians and Middle East Peace: Issues for the United States
- No Description Available.
- Palestinians and Middle East Peace: Issues for the United States
- No Description Available.
- Iraq: Compliance, Sanctions, and U.S. Policy
- No Description Available.
- Iraq: Weapons Programs, U.N. Requirements, and U.S. Policy
- No Description Available.
- EURATOM and the United States: Renewing the Agreement for Nuclear Cooperation
- The European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) is a regional organization established in 1958 to "create conditions necessary for the establishment and growth of nuclear industries." The United States promoted its establishment to benefit sales of U.S. nuclear power reactors and related equipment. fuels and technology in Europe. The agreement for nuclear cooperation between the United States and EURATOM expired at the end of 1995. On November 29 President Clinton submitted to Congress a new agreement. reached after several years of difficult negotiation.
- Nuclear Arms Control: The U.S.-Russian Agenda
- No Description Available.
- Kosovo: International Reactions to NATO Air Strikes
- No Description Available.
- Kosovo and NATO: Selected Issues of International Law
- No Description Available.
- International Law and the Preemptive Use of Force Against Iraq
- No Description Available.
- Drug Certification Requirements and Congressional Modifications in 2001-2002
- This report provides a brief summary of the existing drug certification requirements for drug producing and drug-transit countries, background on the experience, criticisms, and reform efforts under these provisions; a summary of early congressional options and proposals advanced in 2001, with possible advantages and disadvantages; a summary of later initiatives with legislative activity; and (5) a tracking of legislative action on the major initiatives.
- Antarctica: Environmental Protection, Research, and Conservation of Resources
- This report discusses protocols and treaties designed and implemented to protect Antarctica as a haven for environmental research, preservation, and conservation, as well as related legislation and Congressional efforts.
- Iraq: United Nations and Humanitarian Aid Organizations
- No Description Available.
- The China-U.S. Trade Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights: Implications for China-U.S. Trade Relations
- The United States has pressed China over the past several years to improve its enforcement of U.S. intellectual property rights (IPR) in China and to provide greater market access to intellectual property-related products, such as computer software, CDs, and audio-visual products. Trade tensions over these issues nearly led the United States to impose trade sanctions against China in 1992 and 1995. In March 1995, the United States and China signed a new and detailed IPR trade agreement, which pledges China to substantially reform its IPR enforcement regime and improve market access. This report examines the U.S.-Chinese IPR dispute and analyzes the implications of the new IPR agreement on future U.S.-Chinese trade relations
- China, Congress, and Sanctions - Findings of a Workshop-Seminar
- The People's Republic of China (PRC)'s provocative use of military force in the Taiwan Strait has appeared to subside, but not before convincing many in the Congress that the PRC regime continues to flout international norms sensitive to the United States. In addition to challenging stability in the Taiwan Strait, the PRC is seen recently to undermine important U.S. interests regarding nuclear proliferation, intellectual property rights, and missile proliferation. As a result, many in the Congress are pressing for actions -- including economic and other sanctions
- North Korea's Nuclear Weapons Program
- No Description Available.
- North Korea's Nuclear Weapons Program
- No Description Available.
- Sudan: Humanitarian Crisis, Peace Talks, Terrorism, and U.S. Policy
- No Description Available.
- U.N Funding, Payment of Arrears and Linkage to Reform: Legislation in the 105th Congress
- The conference report on H.R. 1757, the Foreign Relations Authorization bill for FY1998-FY1999, will be debated in the Senate beginning April 24 with a vote expected April 28, 1998. On March 26, the House adopted the conference report (H.Rept. 105-432) on H.R. 1757; the bill authorizes a total of $926 million for payment of arrears to international organizations in exchange for U.N. and U.N. agency reforms. The House version of the bill did not address payment of the U.S. arrears or U.N. reforms. The conferees accepted virtually all the Senate language in Conference. The Conference version of the bill also contains unrelated House language restricting activities of foreign family planning organizations, which the President has threatened to veto. This linkage derailed passage of the bill in 1997.
- U.N. System Funding: Congressional Issues
- No Description Available.
- The Law of the Sea Convention and U.S. Policy
- No Description Available.
- Iraq: Oil-for-Food Program, International Sanctions, and Illicit Trade
- This report discusses the "oil-for-food" program (OFFP) as the centerpiece of a long-standing U.N. Security Council effort to alleviate human suffering in Iraq while maintaining key elements of the 1991 Gulf war-related sanctions regime. The program, in operation from December 1996 until March 2003, is detailed.
- The World Trade Organization: The Debate in the United States
- The World Trade Organization (WTO) went into effect in 1995, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) which had been in existence since 1948. Under the WTO, the governments of the 136 member countries agree on a set of rules and principles for trade, negotiate periodically to reduce trade barriers, and participate in the dispute settlement procedure. Economists believe that, over the past 50 years, the more predictable environment for trade as well as the reduction in trade barriers has contributed to unprecedented economic prosperity for the majority of countries. On the other hand, trade liberalization under the WTO has resulted in economic costs to those whose jobs have been adversely affected, although they are relatively few compared to total employment in the United States.
- Trade Agreements: Impact on the U.S. Economy
- No Description Available.
- Terrorist Identification, Screening, and Tracking Under Homeland Security Presidential Directive 6
- No Description Available.
- Renditions: Constraints Imposed by Laws on Torture
- No Description Available.
- Deep Seabed Mining: U.S. Interests and the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea
- On July 29, 1994, the United States signed the Agreement Relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982. This agreement substantially reforms the seabed mining provisions of the 1982 Convention, which the United States found objectionable. In signing the Agreement, President Clinton accepted provisional application of it which enables the United States to participate in the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and its organs and bodies. On November 16, 1994, the U.N. Law of the Sea Convention entered into force without accession by the United States.The treaty document was referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations late in the 103d Congress and awaits committee action in the 104th Congress.
- Cyprus: Status of U.N. Negotiations
- Cyprus has been divided since 1974. Greek Cypriots, nearly 80% of the population, live in the southern two thirds of the island. Turkish Cypriots live in the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (recognized only by Turkey), with about 30,000 Turkish troops providing security. U.N. peacekeeping forces maintain a buffer zone between the two. Members of Congress have urged the Administration to be more active, although they have not proposed an alternative to the U.N.-sponsored talks.
- World Heritage Convention and U.S. National Parks
- On March 6, 2001, Congressman Don Young introduced H.R. 883, the American Land Sovereignty Act. H.R. 883 requires congressional approval to add any lands owned by the United States to the World Heritage List, a UNESCO-administered list established by the 1972 World Heritage Convention. In related legislation, P.L. 106-429, in which H.R. 5526, the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs appropriations act for 2001 was referenced, contained language prohibiting funding from this bill for the United Nations World Heritage Fund. The World Heritage Fund provides technical assistance to countries requesting help in protecting World Heritage sites. This paper describes the operation of the UNESCO Convention and will be updated periodically.
- Why Certain Trade Agreements Are Approved as Congressional-Executive Agreements Rather Than as Treaties
- Trade agreements such asthe NAFTA and the GATT Uruguay Round agreements have been approved by majority vote of each House of Congress rather than by twothirds vote of the Senate — that is, they have been treated as congressional-executive agreements rather than astreaties. The congressional-executive agreement has been the vehicle for implementingCongress' long-standing policy ofseeking trade benefitsfor the United States through reciprocal trade negotiations. In a succession of statutes, Congress has authorized the President to negotiate and enter into tariff and nontariff barrier (NTB) agreements for limited periods, while mandating that NTB and free trade area agreements negotiated under this authority could enter into force for the United States only if approved by both Houses in a bill enacted into public law and other statutory conditions were met.
- Trade and the Americas
- No Description Available.
- China and the World Trade Organization
- China has sought over the past several years to become a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the international agency that administers multilateral trade rules. China’s WTO membership (as well as that of Taiwan’s) was formally approved at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar in November 2001. On December 11, 2001, China officially became a WTO member. WTO membership will require China to significantly liberalize its trade and investment regimes, which could produce significant new commercial opportunities for U.S. businesses. A main concern for Congress is to ensure that China fully complies with its WTO commitments.
- Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty Demarcation and Succession Agreements: Background and Issues
- This report discusses the content of and issues related to the ABM Treaty Succession and Demarcation Agreements signed in September 1997.
- Nuclear Weapons: Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
- No Description Available.
- Chemical Weapons Convention: Issues for Congress
- The Convention provides the most extensive and intrusive verification regime of any arms control treaty, extending its coverage to not only governmental but also civilian facilities. The Convention also requires export controls and reporting requirements on chemicals that can be used as warfare agents and their precursors. The CWC establishes the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to oversee the Convention's implementation. Chemical Weapons Convention implementing legislation, as S. 610, passed the Senate unanimously on May 23, 1997. This legislation, which was an amendment in the nature of a substitute reported from the Judiciary Committee, provides the statutory authority for domestic compliance with the Convention's provisions. It sets criminal and civil penalties for the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, transfer, possession, or use of chemical weapons.
- Chemical Weapons Convention: Issues for Congress
- The CWC bans the development, production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons by members signatories. It also requires the destruction of all chemical weapons stockpiles and production facilities. Neither the United States nor Russia will be able to meet the original CWC’s deadlines for destruction of their CW stockpiles, and have been granted extensions to at least 2012. The Convention provides the most extensive and intrusive verification regime of any arms control treaty, extending its coverage to not only governmental but also civilian facilities. The Convention also requires export controls and reporting requirements on chemicals that can be used as warfare agents and their precursors. The CWC establishes the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to oversee the Convention’s implementation.
- United Nations System Funding: Congressional Issues
- No Description Available.
- Palestinians and Middle East Peace: Issues for the United States
- No Description Available.