Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 99 Part 2.djvu/204

 99 STAT. 1314

Loans.

President of U.S. Afghanistan. 19 USC 2434 note.

PUBLIC LAW 99-190—DEC. 19, 1985

Sec. 551. The foreign debt burdens of many Third World nations have contributed to their economic decline and inability to engage in a significant economic recovery; The United States foreign military assistance loan programs, which have had very high interest rates in past years, have contributed to the security of our friends and allies, but also have played a contributing role in adding to the debt burdens of many of our friends and allies; United States foreign aid has, among its major objectives, the enhancement of the military and economic security of our friends and allies and our own security; A foreign assistance program which adds significantly to the debt burdens of our friends and allies by forcing the weaker of those nations to use funds which could be used for development for repayment of loans impairs their economic development unnecessarily and is not in either their or our interest; The past few years have seen several positive legislative steps taken to alleviate the FMS loan-related debt burdens of our friends and allies by reducing interest rates, stretching out the repayment period of these loans, and by increasing the level of MAP grants and forgiven FMS credits; These steps have helped to ease these problems in the short term, but the long-term debt servicing problems of our friends and allies remain; It would be in the best interests of our friends and allies to alleviate their debt burdens brought about by past loans and to bring about a more streamlined and straightforward approach to their programs in this area; Such streamlined, straightforward programs would make it easier to develop country programs and would ease current pressures on the United States to grant to aid recipients the most favorable terms on their military loan programs: Now therefore (1) it is the sense of the Congress that a more simplified, streamlined, straightforward foreign military assistance program is in the national interest and in the interest of the military and economic security of our friends and allies throughout the world; (2) that greater concessionality only to match economic need as appropriate should be incorporated into future military assistance programs; (3) that FMS loan programs extending the repayment period beyond the useful life of the items to be purchased could tend to increase the long-term debt burdens of our friends and allies; (4) that the FMS concessional loan program contains a significant grant element to the recipient nation and that the Congress should actively consider replacing this program with a more straightforward approach; (5) the President is urged to propose, in the next formal Congressional Presentation for Security Assistance Programs, reforms and refinements in the foreign military assistance programs along these lines for consideration by the appropriate committees of the Congress. SEC. 552. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the President is authorized— (1) to deny nondiscriminatory (most-favored-nation) trade treatment to the products of Afghanistan and thereby cause such products to be subject to the rate of duty set forth in

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