Rep. Brady Says Passing PNTR for Russia Is ‘Doable’This Summer, but a Hard Lift

Bloomberg BNA

House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) June 19 said that passing legislation allowing permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status for Russia was “doable” by this summer although it would be a “hard lift.”

Brady also said he would prefer to see Russia PNTR legislation and a bill addressing Russian human rights concerns move separately.

“There’s no question passing PNTR for Russia is definitely doable, and it is doable this summer,” Brady said in a keynote address at a Peterson Institute for International Economics conference. “But there must be a meeting of the minds on the strategy, just as you do for every trade agreement.”

Brady said that the White House must ramp up its efforts to convince Congress to approve PNTR for Russia before it accedes to the World Trade Organization, adding that administration officials would have an opportunity to make the case at a June 20 hearing of the full Ways and Means Committee.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), International Trade Subcommittee ranking member John Thune (R-S.D.), Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.), and Armed Services Committee ranking member John McCain (R-Ariz.) recently introduced legislation (S. 3285) to terminate the application of Title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 to Russia so the president can grant PNTR (113 DER A-30, 6/13/12). At that time, Baucus and Kerry simultaneously unveiled their strategy of advancing human rights legislation along with the trade bill by adding the full text of the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act (S. 1039) as an amendment to the bill that would terminate Title IV of the 1974 Trade Act.

Hearings Scheduled on PNTR

Normal trade relations with Russia are subject to an annual review under Section 402 of the Trade Act, known as the Jackson-Vanik Amendment, contained in Title IV. Jackson-Vanik was aimed at linking trade with human rights by monitoring Jewish emigration from the former Soviet Union and other socialist countries.

The Foreign Relations Committee told BNA that a member of the committee had requested that the Magnitsky bill be held over prior to a scheduled June 19 markup and vote. The committee’s next business meeting, which is when the bill should be brought back up, is set for June 26.

The House Ways and Means Committee has a hearing scheduled on Russia PNTR June 20, and Senate Finance will hold a hearing June 21.

Brady said he would prefer that a bill lifting the Jackson-Vanik amendment as applied to Russia move separately from a measure seeking to address human rights violations. “I would prefer them not to be linked myself, but clearly at the end of the day if the will of the House and the Senate is to pass the Magnitsky bill, then it will be necessary,” Brady said under questioning.

Brady said he shared concerns about Russia’s human rights violations but expressed the view that not granting Russia PNTR would not increase U.S. leverage.

“[W]e’re laying a very solid groundwork … for the economic arguments of passing Russia PNTR,” Brady told reporters.

“There are some members who have these other concerns and that may be the bill that addresses them,” he told reporters after his remarks, referring to the Magnitsky legislation. займ на карту срочно без отказа займ онлайн на карту без отказа https://zp-pdl.com/how-to-get-fast-payday-loan-online.php https://zp-pdl.com/fast-and-easy-payday-loans-online.php срочный займ на карту