Cold War restriction ties up US-Russia trade

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Posted on Monday, 04.04.11
Cold War restriction ties up US-Russia trade
By JIM ABRAMS
Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Russian and Israeli tourists can now travel visa-free between their two countries, yet U.S.-Russian trade relations continue to be stymied by a Cold War law censuring the Soviets for holding up Jewish emigration.

In 1974 Sen. Henry Jackson, D-Wash., and Rep. Charles Vanik, D-Ohio, attached a provision to a trade bill denying normal trade relations to communist states that restrict emigration or punish those seeking to leave the country. In the following years the Jackson-Vanik amendment was a major factor in compelling Moscow to allow more Jews to emigrate.

It lost much of its relevancy after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and since 1994 U.S. presidents have annually waived its application in extending normal trade relations to Russia.

But the amendment remains on the books, and now poses a threat to U.S. businesses in danger of losing greater access to the Russian market if Congress doesn't repeal the measure. Republicans say they're not going to allow that until the Obama administration submits pending free trade agreements with Colombia and Panama to Congress.

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