Presidential Determination on Foreign Governments' Efforts Regarding Trafficking in Persons

This determination applies sanctions and partial waivers under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 for FY 2017, restricting non-humanitarian, non-trade-related assistance to 11 countries for failing to meet anti-trafficking standards, while granting national-interest waivers for 22 other countries and specific partial waivers for 7 countries to allow certain programs to continue.

Federal Register Open PDF 81 FR 70311

Impact

6/10 structural

Visibility: low

Areas

Rights Economy Defense Trade

Affected

Governments of Equatorial Guinea, Iran, South Sudan, Sudan, Venezuela, Zimbabwe
Governments of Eritrea, North Korea, Russia, Syria
Governments of Algeria, Belarus, Belize, Burma, Burundi, Central African Republic, Comoros, Djibouti, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Papua New Guinea, Suriname, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
U.S. Executive Directors of multilateral development banks and IMF
Victims of trafficking in persons
Vulnerable populations in affected countries
Government officials/employees eligible for exchange programs

Themes

human-trafficking · foreign-assistance · sanctions · congressional-reporting · multilateral-development-banks · imf · national-interest-waivers · democracy-promotion · military-assistance-exceptions

Impact dates

Date TBD
Secretary of State report to Congress on compliance
Sep 27, 2016
Determination signed and effective
Sep 27, 2016
FY 2017 assistance restrictions apply

Key directives

Withhold certain non-humanitarian, non-trade-related assistance to Equatorial Guinea, Iran, South Sudan, Sudan, Venezuela, Zimbabwe for FY 2017
Withhold assistance and educational/cultural exchange funding to Eritrea, North Korea, Russia, Syria for FY 2017
Instruct U.S. Executive Directors of multilateral development banks and IMF to vote against and deny loans to Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Zimbabwe for FY 2017
Grant full national-interest waivers for 17 countries (Algeria through Uzbekistan)
Grant partial waivers for Equatorial Guinea (sustainable resource management, energy access, young leader exchanges)
Grant partial waivers for South Sudan (excluding Foreign Military Financing, Sales, Excess Defense Articles)
Grant waiver for South Sudan under NDAA section 1208
Grant partial waivers for Sudan (excluding military assistance programs)
Grant partial waivers for Venezuela (democracy strengthening, rule of law programs)
Grant extensive partial waivers for Zimbabwe (victim assistance, health, governance, education, etc.)
Submit determination to Congress and publish in Federal Register

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

Restrictions on assistance for FY 2017 take effect for designated countries
U.S. Executive Directors instructed to vote against loans to specified countries

Near term (90d)

Secretary of State to report to Congress on compliance determinations
Determination to be published in Federal Register

Long term

Sanctions remain until countries comply with minimum standards or make significant efforts
Potential renewal or modification in subsequent fiscal years

Risks & tensions

Partial waivers for countries with poor trafficking records may dilute sanctions pressure
Zimbabwe waiver is unusually extensive, potentially undermining accountability mechanism
Russia and Syria included in sanctions but receive partial waiver for educational exchanges, creating mixed signals
South Sudan and Sudan military assistance exceptions reflect tension between anti-trafficking goals and security interests
Venezuela democracy-focused waiver may be seen as politicizing humanitarian criteria