Posts Tagged ‘jackson-vanik’
Targeting Russia’s offenders
ON FRIDAY, the House of Representatives stepped out of the past and confronted today’s human rights debacle in Russia. By a vote of 365-43, the chamber repealed the 1974 Jackson-Vanik trade restrictions that were a cornerstone of the long struggle to win freedom for Soviet Jews to emigrate. At the same time, the House approved legislation creating new sanctions against human rights abusers, including those who sent corruption-fighting lawyer Sergei Magnitsky to his death in a jail cell three years ago.
The Jackson-Vanik amendment was a singularly powerful instrument in the Cold War, a counter-weight to detente that was championed by Sen. Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (D-Wash.). The original purpose has long been realized. Russia does not prevent emigration, as the Soviet Union once did, and it has now joined the World Trade Organization. The new legislation will create permanent, normal trade relations with Russia, an important and welcome foundation for American firms seeking to do business there.
But Mr. Jackson’s goals have not been fulfilled entirely. Respect for human rights in Russia has plunged since President Vladimir Putin returned to office this year, confronted by large street demonstrations against his rule. A string of new laws has restricted freedom of expression, assembly and association. The laws give the state expanded powers to accuse individuals of treason; restrict nongovernmental organizations that receive money from abroad; and attempt to limit participation in public demonstrations. Moreover, Mr. Putin’s enforcers have been eager to set an example for those who would challenge the Kremlin. A band of punk rockers, Pussy Riot, received harsh prison sentences after a performance prank that included criticism of Mr. Putin. An opposition activist was apparently abducted by Russian agents while in Kiev, brought back to Moscow and interrogated. These tactics are intended to create fear and intimidation.
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Jackson-Vanik Ends, but Legacy Continues
On Election Day last week, Connecticut elected a replacement senator for the retiring Joe Lieberman, the very last Scoop Jackson Democrat. In terms of Jackson’s legacy, it was one half of the end an era; the other half begins today, as the U.S. House votes to graduate Russia from what’s known as the Jackson-Vanik Amendment, a piece of Cold War-era legislation sanctioning the Soviet Union for its refusal to allow Jews to emigrate. The amendment is still on the books, but mostly as a symbolic measure. Now that Russia is joining the World Trade Organization, the Jackson-Vanik Amendment would actually harm American companies looking to benefit from the normalization of trade relations with Russia.
But the legacy of Henry “Scoop” Jackson’s fight for human rights in Russia will go on. The bill is set to be replaced with a bill targeting the Russian government’s recognizable human rights violators. Referred to as the Magnitsky bill, it is named for a Russian whistle blower arrested and abused by Russian authorities for uncovering corruption. Magnitsky died in custody. As with the sanctions on Iran, the Obama administration had personally opposed the Magnitsky human rights bill, and dispatched John Kerry to try and kill or water down the bill. When the Senate comes back from its Thanksgiving recess to take up its own version of the bill, we’ll find out just how much contempt Kerry has for the advocacy of human rights. Vladimir Putin’s government, unsurprisingly, isn’t thrilled with being held to account:
Congress will vote on a bill named after Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky on Friday – the third anniversary of his death in detention – which is designed to deny visas for Russian officials involved in his imprisonment, abuse or death.
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Magnitsky Act Passed by U.S. House
The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed a landmark bill that would allow permanent normal trade relations with Russia and at the same time punish Russians suspected of human rights abuses, including those involved in the death of Hermitage Capital lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.
The bill, which would repeal the Jackson-Vanik amendment of 1974 that denied trade advantages to the Soviet Union for hindering the emigration of Jews and other groups, passed with bipartisan support.
The bill will now go the Senate, where its supporters expect it to be approved. It has the backing of U.S. President Barack Obama, who could sign the bill before the end of the year.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Friday that there will be “tough” but not necessarily “proportionate” retaliation if the bill becomes law, Interfax reported.
Ryabkov said mutual respect was lacking in bilateral relations, and he repeated Russia’s long-standing position that the U.S. is attempting to interfere in the country’s domestic affairs.
The Magnitsky act, named after lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in a Moscow prison in 2009, stipulates visa bans and a freeze of assets for Russians determined to have been involved in the arrest, abuse or death of Magnitsky, and for others responsible for human rights abuses in Russia.
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Russia Must Be Held Accountable for its Human Rights Violations, Ros-Lehtinen Says
U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, made the following statement today in support of the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act which has been incorporated as Title IV into H.R. 6156, the Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012. The bill passed the House by a vote of 365-43. Floor statement by Ros-Lehtinen:
“I plan to vote for this bill, H.R. 6156, even though I remain strongly opposed to granting Russia Permanent Normal Trade Relations, or PNTR, at this time. I would like to explain the reasons why. Those who argue for granting Russia PNTR, which has until now been prevented by what is known as the Jackson-Vanik amendment, focus on the supposed bilateral trade benefits. But the issue that concerns me and many Members is not trade but human rights.
“Advocates of repeal say that the Jackson-Vanik amendment is outdated and purely symbolic and therefore should be disregarded. But in the area of human rights, symbols can have a very great importance. Over the years, Jackson-Vanik has become a sign of the continuing U.S. commitment to human rights in Russia and elsewhere. Repealing the amendment could very well be interpreted as an indication that our commitment is now weakening.
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House OKs expanded trade with Russia in 365-43 vote
The House passed legislation Friday morning that expands trade with Russia, but also allows for sanctions against Russian officials involved in human rights violations.
Members approved H.R. 6156, which gives Russia and Moldova permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status, in an overwhelming 365-43 vote. The bill was opposed by a handful of Republicans and about three dozen Democrats.
Granting Russia the trade status is a step the United States needs to take if it is going to benefit from the concessions Russia made when it entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) in August. Russia’s ascension marked the end of a nearly two-decade effort to join the WTO, which sets global trade rules and fosters favorable trading terms between members.
House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) on Friday said the bill would help dramatically expand U.S. exports to Russia.
“This bill would allow us to gain important rights and powerful new enforcement tools with respect to one of the world’s largest economies without giving up a single tariff or other concession,” he said. “We could double or even triple U.S. exports to Russia within five years.”
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Congressman McGovern remarks on the Rule for HR 6156, the Magnitsky Bill
Congressman McGovern remarks on the Rule for HR 6156, the Magnitsky Bill
I thank the gentleman from California, the honorable Chairman of the Rules Committee, for yielding me the customary 30 minutes. And I thank him for bringing this rule to the floor. He and I co-authored a “Dear Colleague” in support of the underlying legislation, and it was a pleasure to work with him on this important bill.
M. Speaker, H.R. 6156 joins together two pieces of legislation that deal with trade and human rights in the Russian Federation. The distinguished Chairman has provided a clear description of the provisions in the bill that grant Permanent Normal Trade Relations – or PNTR – to the nations of Moldova and the Russian Federation. It is fairly straightforward.
Simply put, after more than 18 years of negotiations, Russia joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in August. That membership will require Russia – for the first time – to play by the same rules of trade as the United States and virtually every other nation in the world.
But, under WTO rules, the United States cannot take advantage of Russia’s WTO membership unless and until Congress grants Russia “permanent normal trade relations,” replacing the 1974 special bilateral agreement with Russia known as the “Jackson-Vanik” amendment.
The United States is not required to change any U.S. law as a result of Russia’s WTO membership, other than this change to the 1974 trade law. This is in contrast to bilateral free trade agreements, where the United States is required to provide duty-free treatment.
If that were all there was to H.R. 6156, it would pass or fail along familiar lines of trade-related legislation. But H.R. 6156 will become known as a landmark piece of trade legislation not because it grants PNTR for Russia and Moldova, but because it includes Title IV, the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012.
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Bill sustains fight against human-rights abuses
In 2008, a young Russian attorney chose to do something courageous. That man, Sergei Magnitsky, took the daring — and in his country, unprecedented — step of publicly exposing a vast web of corruption and tax fraud presided over by some of Russia’s most senior officials. Those authorities, stung by his insolence, quickly arranged for Magnitsky to be tossed in jail on trumped-up charges. Over the course of a year, he was beaten, tortured and denied medical treatment; he ultimately died on Nov. 16, 2009.
Magnitsky could then have become just another statistic, another smothered voice for freedom, another example of the corrupt prevailing over the crusading.
Fortunately, that did not happen. Magnitsky’s story found a voice through a diverse coalition of human-rights activists, business leaders, academics, think tank scholars and journalists — a coalition that helped inspire us to draft bipartisan Senate legislation that would hold accountable officials from all over the world who disregard basic human rights, who fail to uphold the rule of law and who unjustly jail, abuse and murder whistle-blowers like Magnitsky.
Indeed, despite our differences on other issues, we both agree on the need for this so-called Magnitsky bill.
The United States has long been a global leader in the fight against corruption and human-rights abuses, and there is broad, bipartisan support in Congress for continuing to honor that important tradition. However, even as the House and Senate have begun to advance versions of this legislation as part of a comprehensive legislative package to grant normal trade relations to Russia (and in so doing, repeal Cold War-era Jackson-Vanik sanctions), a key difference has emerged between the two bills: While our Senate bill would hold these types of officials accountable no matter where they might prey, the House’s version would deal only with Russian authorities.
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Clinton sees Congress moving on Russia trade measure
The U.S. Congress may move this month to upgrade trade relations with Russia, a key part of the Obama administration’s effort to bolster sometimes strained ties with Moscow and open the Russian market to more U.S. companies, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Saturday.
Clinton, addressing the Asia Pacific Economic Forum (APEC) meeting in Vladivostok, said the Obama administration was working closely with Congress on lifting the 1974 Jackson-Vanik amendment, Cold War-era legislation which has blocked normal trade privileges for Russia.
“To make sure our companies get to compete here in Russia, we are working closely with the United States congress to terminate the application to Jackson-Vanik to Russia and grant Russia permanent normalized trade relations,” Clinton said.
“We hope that the Congress will act on this important piece of legislation this month.”
Congress is under pressure to approve the permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) bill because of Russia’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) last month, a move the United States strongly supported.
U.S. business groups hope the House of Representatives and Senate will pass the legislation in September before lawmakers return home to campaign. Businesses worry that without it U.S. firms may not get access to newly opened services markets and be subject to potential arbitrary Russian trade reprisals.
But with concerns in Congress about Moscow’s support for Iran and Syria, as well as its broader human rights record, the timing of a vote remains unclear.
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Names and Stories from the Sergei Magnitsky Bill
Last week, Russia became a full-fledged member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), completing a 19-year “long and winding” saga that began under President Yeltsin. With Russia’s accession to the WTO, the only fellow member that remains at a trade disadvantage with Russia now is the United States, which has yet to repeal the Jackson-Vanik Amendment and officially establish permanent trade relations with Russia.
The Obama Administration welcomed Russia’s WTO accession this week and urged Congress to repeal the Jackson-Vanik amendment. Even so, there are still signs that it may not come up for a vote when Congress returns next month. The hold-up is mostly due to disagreements over the details of another bill, the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012. That bill would establish visa bans and assets freezes on individuals responsible for gross violations of human rights in Russia.
In effect, Congress is avoiding this vote and decisive action on human rights policy in Russia because it doesn’t want to “reward” the Kremlin, which continues to undermine the basic human rights of its citizens. It is still unclear whether the Magnistky Act, when passed, will include sanctions on all human rights violators globally, and it also remains unclear what criteria is used to place an individual’s name on the State Department’s visa ban list. Various types of human rights violations are already listed in the Magnitsky Act.
The following fact sheet lists all individuals affected by the lack of rule of law in Russia who are specifically named in the bill—painting a horrifying picture of unsolved murders and beatings, torture and politically motivated imprisonment in Vladimir Putin’s country.
Unsolved Murders
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