Human rights concerns complicate efforts to ramp up Russia trade

The Hill

Congress, the Obama administration and business groups are ramping up efforts to pave the way this summer for improved trade relations with Russia, but that work is being complicated by parallel efforts to address human rights concerns in that country.

While the push is being made to repeal the Jackson-Vanik amendment and grant permanent normal trade relations, some lawmakers are also eager to pass a measure designed to signal to Moscow that human rights and national security violations won’t be tolerated as that nation prepares to join the World Trade Organization (WTO).

In the ever complicated realm of U.S.-Russia relations, supporters of repealing Jackson-Vanik — a 37-year-old provision designed to put pressure on Communist nations for human-rights abuses and emigration policies — are emphasizing that Russia’s entry into the WTO does not require the U.S. to pass any additional measures .

The United States gives up nothing and won’t be required to change its laws, said Edward Gerwin, senior fellow for trade and global economic policy at Third Way, told The Hill.

Not only are normal trade relations denied to nations that restrict emigration, but without a repeal, U.S. businesses would lose the benefits derived from a more open Russian market, putting companies at a competitive disadvantage.

We’re not rewarding the Russians, Gerwin said. From a policy standpoint keeping Jackson-Vanik doesn’t get us anywhere, he said.

Granting permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) is in no way an expression of support for their really bad foreign policy decisions in places like Syria, he added.

Russia’s decision to vote July 4, ahead of the July 23 deadline, on its WTO accession means lawmakers will have to pass a repeal before the August recess to gain the full benefits.

Once the Russian Duma passes the bill, the nation joins the WTO 30 days later.

For the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, normalizing trade relations with Russia is the top legislative priority this year, Christopher Wenk, the Chamber’s senior director for international policy, told The Hill.

Wenk said the Chamber is focusing on educating lawmakers as the issue bubbles to the surface this summer and that the wheels are turning and we all can do more to get PNTR done by August.

We have no leverage over Russia if don’t recognize them, he said.

The whole point of this exercise is that they are agreeing to a set of rules and we’ll all be under the WTO tent.

The process appears to be moving forward with the House Ways and Means Committee expected to hold a hearing on June 20, a few days after the lower chamber returns from a weeklong recess, according to several sources.

A Senate Finance Committee hearing also is in the offing soon, a source told The Hill.

From there, lawmakers need to introduce legislation to repeal the decades-old Jackson-Vanik provision and move toward mark ups.

If Jackson-Vanik is still on the books come August, U.S. companies won’t be able to enjoy all the benefits and it would further complicate when Congress could take it up during the busy election season, Wenk said.

Earlier this week, the President’s Export Council (PEC) urged close collaboration with the Congress.

We urge you to work closely with the Congress to provide PNTR prior to Russia’s WTO ratification so that American companies and workers do not lose out on significant economic opportunities in the Russian market, they wrote in a letter signed by PEC Chairman James McNerney, president and chief executive of Boeing.

Besides the benefits to U.S. businesses, proponents argue that Russia’s accession will allow the United States to use WTO mechanisms, including dispute settlement, to challenge actions that are inconsistent with international trade rules.

Once Russia becomes a member of the World Trade Organization, we need to make sure that American businesses have the full advantages of that, and therefore it’s necessary for us to lift Jackson-Vanik, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk told the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia on Thursday.

Russia, which has been trying to join the trade organization since 1993, is one of the world’s largest economies that isn’t part of the 153-member WTO.

Last year, the U.S. exported $11 billion worth of goods and services and at least one report says that could double by 2017 by just following through with the repeal.

Meanwhile, blocs of bipartisan lawmakers on each side of the Capitol are pushing for passage of a human rights bill that would freeze assets and deny U.S. visas to Russian officials linked to human rights abuses, a move the Obama administration has warned could create more tension between Washington and Moscow.

Russia has vowed to retaliate if the bill becomes law.

Some lawmakers have suggested they would support repealing Jackson-Vanik as a trade-off in exchange for passage of the so-called Magnitsky bill.

“There is growing recognition in the business community and on the Hill to do something meaningful and send a message on human rights,” Gerwin said.

“The Russians are hacked off about it but they can’t deny us any trade rights because then they would be in violation of WTO rules,” he said.

“We’ve got a good track record at the WTO so it’s unlikely Russia would do something blatant.”

Kirk said repealing Jackson-Vanik is a top priority for his office this year but he is opposed to linking it to a Magnitsky bill.

“Our priority is for the Congress to lift Jackson-Vanik in a clean bill which deals only with the issue relevant to our ability to maintain our competitiveness,” Kirk said.

The administration will “continue our work” with lawmakers concerned about human rights, Kirk said.

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has talked about linking his chamber’s measure.

Still, while a human rights bill gives Congress an opportunity to express its dissatisfaction with Russia’s track record on human rights, it is separate from the repeal and no bearing on the results for businesses of getting rid of Jackson-Vanik, Gerwin said.

Wenk said the Chamber has a “laser focus” on the business aspects of nixing the provision and isn’t taking a stance on the human rights legislation that is moving through the House and is expected to start soon in the Senate.

The House Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday approved its human rights legislation and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to take up the Magnitsky bill in conjunction with the Senate Finance Committee’s vote on trade relations. buy viagra online срочный займ на карту онлайн https://zp-pdl.com/best-payday-loans.php https://zp-pdl.com/how-to-get-fast-payday-loan-online.php hairy girls