Fact Sheet: Major Illicit Drug-Producing and -Transit Countries

02 November 2000

Fact Sheet: Major Illicit Drug-Producing and -Transit Countries

Annual "majors" list and explanation of certification process

On November 1, the U.S. Department of State issued a fact sheet on the latest annual list of major illicit drug-producing and/or drug-transit countries, with details on the certification process determining which countries are designated as allies in the fight against the illicit drug trade.

Following is the text:

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FACT SHEET: MAJORS LIST AND THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS

The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (FAA), requires the President every year to submit to Congress a list of those countries he has determined to be major illicit drug-producing and/or drug-transit countries. The FAA requires that half of most U.S. Government foreign assistance to any country on this Majors List be withheld until the President determines whether the country should be "certified."

A major or illicit drug-producing country is defined as one in which:

(A) 1,000 hectares or more of illicit opium poppy is cultivated or harvested during a year;

(B) 1,000 hectares or more of illicit coca is cultivated or harvested during a year; or

(C) 5,000 hectares or more of illicit cannabis is cultivated or harvested during a year, unless the President determines that such illicit cannabis production does not significantly affect the United States.

A major drug-transit country is defined as a country:

(A) that is a significant direct source of illicit narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances significantly affecting the United States; or

(B) through which are transported such drugs or substances.

THE MAJORS LIST FOR 2000

On November 1, the President approved and sent to Congress the Majors List for 2000. The 24 countries included were:

Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Thailand, Venezuela, and Vietnam.

The Majors List applies by its terms to "countries." Congress is on notice, however, that we interpret the term broadly to include certain entities that exercise autonomy over actions or omissions that would lead to a decision to place them on the list and subsequently to determine eligibility for certification.

The President is required under the FAA to review anti-narcotics efforts undertaken by those countries on the Majors List in order to transmit certification decisions to Congress by March 1. The President may select from the following certification options for each of the countries on the Majors List: full certification, denial of certification or a "vital national interest" certification.

In order to "fully" certify a country, the President must determine that during the previous year it has cooperated fully with the United States, or has taken adequate steps on its own, to achieve full compliance with the goals and objectives of the 1988 U.N. Drug Convention. If a country receives full certification, all aid that was withheld is released.

Denial of certification requires the U.S. to deny sales or financing under the Arms Export Control Act; deny the provision of agricultural commodities, other than food, under the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954; deny financing under the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945; and withhold most assistance under the FAA with the exception of specified humanitarian and counternarcotics assistance. The U.S. must also vote against proposed loans from six multilateral development banks.

If a country has not met the standards for full certification, the President may nevertheless certify the country by determining that the U.S. vital national interest requires that assistance be provided and that the U.S. not vote against multilateral development bank assistance for the country. When a country receives a "vital national interest" certification, assistance is provided in the same manner as if it had been given full certification.

THE CERTIFICATION DETERMINATIONS FOR 1999

Last March the President determined and certified that the following major illicit drug-producing and/or drug-transit countries/entities have cooperated fully with the United States, or have taken adequate steps on their own, to achieve the goals and objectives of the 1988 U.N. Drug Convention:

The Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Taiwan, Thailand, Venezuela, and Vietnam.

The President determined that it is in the vital national interest of the United States to certify the following major illicit drug producing and/or drug-transit countries:

Cambodia, Haiti, Nigeria, and Paraguay.

The President determined that the following major illicit drug-producing and/or drug-transit countries do not meet the standards for certification:

Afghanistan and Burma.

The Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) at the Department of State initiates the certification process each spring. Based upon the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) produced by INL each year, and also upon input from other U.S. Government sources, a proposed Majors List is compiled and presented to the Secretary of State for consideration.

The Secretary sends her recommendations to the President, who makes the final determinations regarding inclusion on the Majors List. The White House transmits the list to the Chairmen of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, House International Relations Committee, and the Appropriation Committees. The Majors List is due in the Congress by November 1.

INL works with U.S. embassies and governments in the countries on the Majors List to develop targets that each country should work toward in the coming year in order to be certified. Throughout the year these criteria are discussed with each nation and periodic progress reports are provided by the U.S. embassies.

Between December and mid-February, the Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs coordinates an interagency process to recommend whether countries should be certified fully based on their counternarcotics performance, denied certification, or granted a vital national interest certification. These recommended determinations are presented to the Secretary of State, who forwards the State Department's recommendations to the President. The President makes the final determinations in a memo to the Secretary of State, who then notifies the Congress by March 1.

The Congress has the option of passing a joint resolution disapproving any of the President's certification determinations within 30 calendar days, which the President can either sign or veto. If the President vetoes the resolution, the Congress would need a two-thirds majority to override the veto and overturn the President's decisions.

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