H.Res. 744 — Introduced in House

IV 113th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 744 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 18, 2014 Mr. Posey submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Republic of Argentina’s continued participation in the Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (G20) nations should be conditioned on its adherence to international norms of economic cooperation and the rule of law. Whereas Argentina has enjoyed the privilege of membership in the Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (G20) since the formation of the G20 in 1999; Whereas at the first G20 Summit in 2008, leaders of the member nations committed to free market principles, including the rule of law, respect for private property, open trade and investment, competitive markets, and efficient, effectively regulated financial systems, which are essential to economic growth and prosperity; Whereas at the Pittsburgh Summit of 2009, G20 nations designated the G20 to be the premier forum for our international economic cooperation, and agreed to work together to generate strong, sustainable and balanced global growth; Whereas at the most recent Leaders’ Summit of 2013, G20 nations reaffirmed their commitment to tackle money laundering and terrorism financing, and to intensify the fight against corruption which is corrosive, destroying public trust, distorting the allocation of resources and undermining the rule of law; Whereas the Republic of Argentina has consistently violated the spirit and letter of these and other G20 declarations through its decision to default on its debt for a second time after repeatedly refusing to negotiate with its creditors, its open and repeated defiance of the judgments of United States courts and personal attacks against a United States Federal judge, its failure to comply with International Monetary Fund membership requirements, its maintenance of stringent trade barriers that hinder United States exports, its policy of expropriating the property of foreign investors, and its failure to implement anti-money laundering and terrorist financing measures; Whereas Standard & Poor’s declared Argentina in default in July 2014 for the second time in 13 years; Whereas the Argentine Government has passed legislation to restructure its debt beyond the reach of United States law to defy and directly contravene a United States Federal court injunction; Whereas a United States District Court Judge determined that the multiple statements the Argentine Government issued asserting that the country had not defaulted in July 2014 were false and misleading, and ordered Argentina to cease making such statements or risk being held in contempt; Whereas in response, Argentina launched a social media campaign attacking the United States judiciary; Whereas the Argentine Government has intimidated foreign owned businesses that operate in Argentina; Whereas the United States Government has determined that the trade restrictions Argentina continues to maintain violate international trade rules and substantially hinder the export of American goods to the Argentine Republic; Whereas since 2010, the Financial Action Task Force has classified Argentina as a jurisdiction with strategic Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism deficiencies that pose a risk to the international financial system; and Whereas Argentina’s actions have downgraded its credit rating and put the economic future of its citizens at risk by contributing directly to accelerated inflation in Argentina of nearly 40 percent, economic stagnation, growing poverty, drastically reduced imports and foreign direct investment, increasing isolation from the international community, and borrowing costs nearly triple that of neighboring countries that are much poorer than Argentina: Now, therefore, be it That— (1) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the Republic of Argentina has failed to meet the responsibilities inherent to membership in the Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (G20); and (2) the House of Representatives calls upon the President and the Secretary of the Treasury to work with the governments of the G20 members to terminate the participation of Argentina in the G20 until the President determines and reports to Congress that Argentina has— (A) ended its defiance of international norms of economic relations; and (B) reestablished its commitment to the rule of law.