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Obama signs trade, human rights bill that angers Moscow
Source: Reuters
Obama signs trade, human rights bill that angers Moscow
By Doug Palmer
WASHINGTON | Fri Dec 14, 2012 6:24pm EST
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday signed a bill that brings U.S. trade relations with Russia into the 21st century but also ushers in a testy era in which the United States could publicly "name and shame" Russian human rights violators.
The measure, which Congress passed by an overwhelming margin, allows Obama to establish "permanent normal trade relations" - or PNTR - with Russia by lifting a Cold War-era restriction on trade.
It also directs Obama to bar Russian human rights violators from entering the United States and freeze any assets they have in U.S. banks. The provision is named in honor of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian anti-corruption lawyer many U.S. lawmakers believe was beaten to death in a Russian jail in 2009.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called the congressional approval of the bill "a purely political and unfriendly act."
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By Doug Palmer
WASHINGTON | Fri Dec 14, 2012 6:24pm EST
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday signed a bill that brings U.S. trade relations with Russia into the 21st century but also ushers in a testy era in which the United States could publicly "name and shame" Russian human rights violators.
The measure, which Congress passed by an overwhelming margin, allows Obama to establish "permanent normal trade relations" - or PNTR - with Russia by lifting a Cold War-era restriction on trade.
It also directs Obama to bar Russian human rights violators from entering the United States and freeze any assets they have in U.S. banks. The provision is named in honor of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian anti-corruption lawyer many U.S. lawmakers believe was beaten to death in a Russian jail in 2009.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called the congressional approval of the bill "a purely political and unfriendly act."
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/14/us-usa-russia-obama-idUSBRE8BD12620121214
