Should the U.S. Sanction Turkey for its Invasion of Northern Syria? (H.R. 4695)

What is H.R. 4695?

(Updated March 11, 2020)

This bill — Protect Against Conflict by Turkey (PACT) Act — would impose financial and travel sanctions on Turkey for its invasion of Northern Syria. These sanctions would target Turkish officials and entities involved in the incursion and those committing human rights abuses. It would also impose sanctions on Turkey for its acquisition of a Russian missile system under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, require a report on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s net worth, and condemn Turkey’s attacks against America’s Kurdish allies in Northern Syria.

Specifically, the bill would sanction Turkey’s ministers of defense and finance, and leading commanders in the Turkish Armed Forces. The State Dept., Treasury Dept., and Director of National Intelligence (DNI) would be required to submit a report to relevant congressional committees regarding the net worth of Turkish President Erdogan and his relatives, including their assets, investments, and other business interests.

Sanctions on Turkish officials would include blocking all financial transactions involving property and assets in the U.S., inadmissibility to the U.S., and the revocation of current visas. Exceptions to the visa sanctions would be made to allow an individual to go to the United Nations Headquarters. 

This bill would prohibit arms transfers to Turkey if those defense articles would be used by Turkish units in Syria. This bill would also sanction Halkbank and other financial institutions that facilitate transactions related to the Turkish Armed Forces and defense industry and the Syria invasion, in addition to other foreign persons arming Turkey in Syria.

This bill would not authorize or require sanctions on Turkish goods to the U.S. It could also be waived by the president if deemed necessary to address humanitarian needs or national security interests. Sanctions unrelated to Turkey’s purchase of a Russian missile could be lifted by the president if the president notifies Congress that Turkey has stopped attacking Kurdish forces, isn’t hindering counterterrorism operations against ISIS, and its non-counterterrorism forces have withdrawn from Northern Syria.

This bill would also express the sense of Congress that Turkey’s invasion of Northern Syria is causing a severe humanitarian crisis and risks undoing the collective gains made in the fight against ISIS, including Turkey’s contributions as a NATO ally. Congress would call for Turkey to immediately stop attacks against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Kurdish civilians or other ethnic minorities in Northern Syria while returning its forces to Turkey. Further, it would note that recent actions by Turkey are examples of the weakening and problematic U.S.-Turkey bilateral relationship and undermines the security of the U.S. and NATO.

Additionally, this bill would express the sense of Congress that the SDF have been critical partners to the U.S. and allied counter-ISIS & counterterrorism efforts in Syria.

Argument in favor

While Turkey is a longstanding NATO ally, its invasion of Northern Syria to target America’s Kurdish allies and purchase of a Russian missile system clearly show the deterioration of the U.S.-Turkey relationship. The U.S. should sanction Turkish officials involved in the invasion until it halts its operations against the Kurds to send a message that Turkey needs to start behaving like an ally.

Argument opposed

Sanctioning Turkey for its invasion of Northern Syria will only worsen its relations with the U.S. and NATO, and make it more likely that Turkey continues to move closer to Russia. The U.S. has nothing to gain from interjecting itself in a long-running dispute between Turkey and the Kurds. Congress should consider the issues of Turkey’s invasion of Northern Syria and its purchase of Russian missiles separately.

Impact

Turkish officials involved in its invasion of Northern Syria, particularly President Erdogan; and the U.S. government.

Cost of H.R. 4695

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel (D-NY) introduced this legislation with Ranking Member Michael McCaul (R-TX) to sanction Turkey for its invasion of Northern Syria, in addition to its purchase of a Russian missile system. Engel offered the following statement following the introduction of this bill:

“What’s happening in Northern Syria right now is a disgrace. Congress must speak out and show decisive action to hold accountable those who created this catastrophe: President Erdogan, who is directing this slaughter, and President Trump, who opened the door to the Turkish incursion and betrayed our Kurdish partners. The Turkish operation is threatening our national security, allowing ISIS to escape, and creating a humanitarian crisis. Yesterday, the House rebuked President Trump with an overwhelming bipartisan majority. Today, we are introducing sanctions to hold Erdogan accountable. Congress must continue bipartisan work to address the disastrous consequences of President Trump’s decision.”

McCaul added:

“Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed my resolution with Chairman Engel calling on Turkey to end its incursion into Syria. The carnage that we have seen over the past week against our Kurdish partners and innocent civilians has been unbearable. There must be consequences. That’s why we introduced a very tough and comprehensive sanctions package to punish Turkey for its actions. The President has already begun implementing sanctions and this legislation builds upon those. My number one priority is protecting the homeland from external threats and that’s at the heart of this bill.”

The American Hellenic Institute called for sanctions against Turkey on October 7, 2019: 

“The American Hellenic community is outraged, and frankly, frustrated, with the West’s inability to take appropriate measures to stop Turkey from: pursuing its expansionist agenda, maintaining its ties with terrorist organizations, and perpetuating its violations of international law in the Eastern Mediterranean; all at the expense of the security and best interests of the United States, our NATO allies, and strategic partners. It bears repeating, Turkey is not a United States ally… We urge Washington and Brussels to act now. We reiterate our call for targeted, swift and overwhelming sanctions to be placed on Turkey, specific to illegal actions Turkey has taken in the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus. We welcome the bipartisan call for sanctions should Turkey conduct military operations in Northeast Syria against the Kurds. Additionally, NATO partners must scrutinize Turkey’s place in the Alliance. Further, Congress must hold hearings on Turkey’s threats to peace and security in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, including its ties to terrorist organizations, based on these recent developments.”

The Trump administration imposed sanctions on Turkey for the invasion of Northern Syria, but agreed to lift them after an initial five-day ceasefire was brokered between Turkey, the U.S., and the SDF under which Kurdish units would move out of a 20 mile “safe zone” occupied by Turkish forces. After SDF forces completed their withdrawal, the ceasefire was extended — although there have been reports of the ceasefire being violated by Turkish-aligned groups, such as the Free Syrian Army.

This bill has the bipartisan support of 72 cosponsors evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. The American Hellenic Institute supports this bill.

A similar bipartisan bill offered by Engel & McCaul to oppose the U.S. withdrawal from Northern Syria & call on Turkey to stop attacking the Syrian Kurds passed the House on a 354-60 vote. After that bill passed, Rep. Engel said in a statement: 

“Yesterday, the House rebuked President Trump with an overwhelming bipartisan majority. Today, we are introducing sanctions to hold Erdogan accountable. Congress must continue bipartisan work to address the disastrous consequences of President Trump’s decision.”

Of Note: Executive Order 13894 on October 14, 2019, authorized various sanctions on Turkey and actors transacting with it in connection with OPS. Under this Executive Order, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) simultaneously designated three key Turkish government officials; the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources; and the Turkish Ministry of National Defense. It also added those individuals and ministries to the List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List). On the same day, the president also announced that the U.S. would halt trade negotiations with Turkey and raise steel tariffs on it by 50%, while prosecutors in New York filed criminal charges against a Turkish state-owned bank, alleging a conspiracy to evade U.S. sanctions against Iran.

In addition to this bill, three other bills — the Countering Turkish Aggression Act of 2019 (H.R.4692 / S.2644), the U.S.-Turkey Relations Review Act of 2019 (H.R.4694), and the as-yet-unnamed S.2624 — are also taking a closer look at U.S.-Turkey relations. The Countering Turkish Aggression Act of 2019 would impose some sanctions similar to those in this bill and also prohibit U.S. arms sales to Turkey and impose secondary sanctions on foreign persons who knowingly support or transact with the Turkish military, even for items or services beyond those usable by the Turkish military in northern Syria. The U.S.-Turkey Relations Review Act would require a detailed Administration report to congressional committees on various aspects of the U.S.-Turkey relationship and its implications for U.S.-NATO strategic and military posture in the Middle East. Finally, S.2624 would simply prohibit U.S. arms sales to Turkey.

Separately, in a case that’s been pending for years and is sensitive for President Ergodan, on October 16, 2019, a U.S. Attorney’s office indicted Turkish bank Halbank for violations of U.S. laws relating to Iran sanctions.

The potential effect of sanctions remains unclear. Some believe that U.S. sanctions are unlikely to deter Turkish military operations because they involve “one of Erdogan’s core convictions” that the group is equivalent to the PKK. Others argue that sanctions could negatively affect Turkey’s fragile economy (which slowly considerably over the course of 2018 and entered a recession in the second half of the year, with the Turkish lira depreciating nearly 30% against the dollar) and U.S.-Turkey bilateral relations.

Media:

• House Foreign Affairs Committee Press Release
  
• House Foreign Affairs Committee Dear Colleague Letter
  
• The Hill
  
• Countable (Turkey’s Invasion of Syria Context)
  
• Countable (Syria Ceasefire Context)
  
• Countable (Turkey-Russia Missile Deal Context)
  
• Congressional Research Service (Context)
  
• Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates (Context)