FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

The United States today announced it will lift the travel ban on Libya. Today’s action is a response to Libya’s progress in joining the international community’s efforts to combat terrorism and halt the spread of weapons of mass destruction and the missiles capable of delivering them.

The Libyan Sanctions Regulations were promulgated in January 1986 after Libya’s participation in the terrorist attacks against the Rome and Vienna airports the month before. Authorized under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the International Security and Development Cooperation Act of 1985, the sanctions were a response to Libya's repeated use and support of terrorism against the United States, as well as other countries and innocent persons.

Among other things, the sanctions have prohibited U.S. citizens from engaging in travel and transportation-related activities with Libya. While the ban on travel by U.S. persons is being lifted today, the prohibitions on transportation-related activities, such as flights to Libya by U.S. air carriers, will remain in place at this time.

Lifting the travel ban will permit U.S. persons to engage in transactions related to travel to Libya and maintenance within Libya. Travel-related services, such as U.S. travel agents’ booking of travel and accommodations within Libya for U.S. persons will also be permitted. Certain restrictions on payments, however, will continue to apply to these transactions.

The travel ban always exempted journalists regularly employed in such capacity by a newsgathering organization. U.S. citizens other than journalists were able to travel to Libya only under the following conditions:

• Travel by close family members of Libyan nationals when the U.S. citizen or resident registered with Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control or with the Embassy of Belgium in Tripoli;
• Travel for the sole purpose of engaging in licensed sales of agricultural commodities, medicine and medical devices; or
• Travel related to the installation or servicing of medical equipment exported pursuant to license could be authorized by specific license.

In addition, a limited number of specific licenses were issued for travel by U.S. companies with pre-sanctions holdings.

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