ExecutiveOrdersEO
DetDeterminationClinton · D Quiet signal

Presidential Determination

Certification for Major Illicit Drug Producing and Drug Transit Countries

This 1998 Presidential Determination certifies countries' cooperation in international narcotics control under the Foreign Assistance Act. It designates 22 countries as having cooperated fully with U.S. counternarcotics goals, 4 countries (Cambodia, Colombia, Pakistan, Paraguay) as certified based on vital national interests, and 4 countries (Afghanistan, Burma, Iran, Nigeria) as failing to meet certification standards. The determination triggers statutory consequences for U.S. foreign assistance and sanctions based on each country's classification.

Federal Register Open PDF 63 FR 12937

Impact dates

  1. Jamaica committed to introduce precursor chemical control legislation

  2. Determination signed and effective

  3. Congressional notification required immediately

Key directives

  • Certify 22 countries as fully cooperating with 1988 UN Drug Convention goals per section 490(b)(1)(A)
  • Certify 4 countries based on vital national interests per section 490(b)(1)(B)
  • Decertify 4 countries failing to meet section 490(b) standards
  • Report determination to Congress immediately
  • Publish determination in Federal Register

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

  • Certification determinations take effect for FY 1998 foreign assistance decisions
  • Countries failing certification become subject to statutory aid sanctions
  • Congressional notification required

Near term (90d)

  • Jamaica committed to introduce precursor chemical control legislation by April 1998
  • Hong Kong Financial Action Task Force review scheduled for 1998
  • Bolivia expected to achieve 20% net coca reduction target for 1998

Long term

  • Bolivia's 5-year plan targets total elimination of illicit coca cultivation by 2002
  • Haiti's full CNU deployment and national narcotics plan pending political resolution
  • India's licit opium stockpile stabilization efforts ongoing

Risks & tensions

  • Colombia certification on 'vital national interests' grounds despite ongoing drug production creates tension with congressional anti-drug hardliners
  • Burma decertification alongside China certification highlights complex regional politics given China's stated dependence on Burmese heroin
  • Haiti's political instability threatens sustained counternarcotics cooperation despite certification
  • Aruba's government collapse in late 1997 raises uncertainty about continued anti-money laundering progress
  • India's 10-30% estimated opium diversion rate suggests certification may overstate control
Presidential Determination: Certification for Major Illicit Drug Producing and Drug Transit Countries · Executive Orders