On Saturday, April 20, 2024, after months of negotiations and many twists and turns, the US House of Representatives passed the 21st Century Peace through Strength Act (H.R. 8038).
This bill, which is the fourth pillar of a broader foreign aid package to assist Israel, Ukraine, and the Indo-Pacific, contains numerous sanctions and trade-related national security measures. After each of the four foreign security bills were passed on Saturday, they were combined into one package and transmitted to the US Senate, which is anticipated to pass the combined bill on Tuesday and clear it for President Biden to sign into law. It is possible that this bill will become law before the end of the week.
We are preparing a more detailed summary of the sanctions-related provisions in the bill, so keep an eye out for that on our blog in the coming days. This will include summaries of the provisions:
- granting the President the authority to seize Russian assets and repurpose them for Ukraine’s reconstruction;
- prohibiting apps that are controlled by foreign adversaries of the United States, which most notably would force TikTok’s Chinese owner to divest the video-sharing app in order to prevent it from becoming banned in the United States;
- harmonizing the US sanctions against Russia with those of the UK and EU by requiring the President to impose sanctions against parties sanctioned by the UK and EU;
- imposing additional sanctions on Iran, including sanctions targeting Iranian petroleum exports, Iranian weapons programs, codifying US export controls targeting Iran’s UAV (i.e., drone) program, etc.;
- imposing sanctions on Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the Lion’s Den, or any affiliate organization;
- codifying sanctions against foreign persons involved in fentanyl trafficking, along with other measures targeting fentanyl trafficking;
- making changes to the statute of limitations for sanctions violations; and
- prohibiting data brokers from selling specified sensitive personal data to a foreign adversary.
