In response to what was described as the "fast-track land reform" in Zimbabwe, the United States government put the Zimbabwean government on a credit freeze in 2001 through the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001 (specifically Section 4C titled Multilateral Financing Restriction). The "fast-track land reform" was in essence the attempt of Zimbabwe state to reclaim the land stolen by white colonists however resulting in most of the land being lost in corruption to ministers. The Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act is an act passed by the United States Congress which imposed economic sanctions on Zimbabwe, allegedly to provide for a transition to democracy and to promote economic recovery. Senators Bill Frist (R-Tennessee) and Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) introduced the bill on March 8, 2001. Senators Frist, Jesse Helms (R-North Carolina), Hillary Clinton (D-New York), and Joseph Biden (D-Delaware) sponsored the bill. The Senate passed the bill on August 1 and the House of Representatives passed the bill on December 4. President George W. Bush signed it into law on December 21.

Vote overview

ZDERA was passed by with 91% (396 vote) of Congress voting in favor of the bill. Of the 396 votes, 194 were Democrats, 200 were Republicans, and 2 were Independent. 3% (11 votes) of Congress voted against ZDERA: 2 Democrats, 8 Republicans, and 1 Independent. 6% (26 votes) did not vote, 15 Democrats and 11 Republicans.

Policy

ZDERA's policy was stated to "support the people of Zimbabwe in their struggle to effect peaceful, democratic change, achieve broad-based and equitable economic growth, and restore the rule of law." This policy was supported by the following findings made by the U.S. Congress:

Means of support

ZDERA proposed two sectors of financial support for the Zimbabwean economy under the imposed sanctions.

Financial sanctions and requalifications

The following criteria were included in the guidelines of ZDERA and were stipulated as law until certain criteria were fulfilled or, exceptionally, it was necessary to meet "basic human needs or for good governance." As such, the Secretary of the Treasury instructed the U.S. executive director of each international financial institution to "oppose and vote against" the following: The following were certifications that once satisfied would lift the aforementioned restrictions: OR that the Government of Zimbabwe has sufficiently improved the pre-election environment to a degree consistent with accepted international standards for security and freedom of movement and association.

Additional actions

It was further recommended from Congress that the President should begin immediate consultations with European Union nations, Canada, and other suitable nations to identify ways to:

Repeal of ZDERA

Bill S. 3722, the Zimbabwe Sanctions Repeal Act of 2010, sponsored by Senator James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) was introduced into the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2010. A vote was never taken. Bill S. 1646, a Zimbabwe Sanctions Repeal Act of 2011, sponsored again by Senator James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) was introduced into the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in October 2011. A vote has yet to be taken.

Critical reception

Simbi Mubako, Zimbabwe's ambassador, and Cynthia McKinney (D-Georgia) accused supporters of the bill of anti-black racism. McKinney referred to the bill as "nothing more than a formal declaration of United States complicity in a program to maintain white-skin privilege [...] under the hypocritical guise of providing a transition to democracy."