Stop the Untouchables. Justice for Sergei Magnitsky.

Human Rights Bill Roils US-Russia Relations

Voice of America

First, Russia’s prime minister, Vladimir Putin, accused Washington of backing protests against him. Then, on Monday, Mitt Romney, the leading U.S. Republican candidate, told CNN that Russia is Washington’s “number one geopolitical foe.” The incidents stand as another roadblock to better U.S.-Russia relations.

Russia is finally set to join the World Trade Organization in August, after 20 years of talks. When it does, American companies could lose out because of a law passed almost four decades ago that restricted trade with the Soviet Union over its refusal to allow Jews to emigrate.

The Soviet Union no longer exists. There is visa-free tourism between Israel and Russia. But a Cold War relic – the 1974 Jackson-Vanick Amendment – would result in higher tariffs for American exports to Russia.

U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul speaks of the impact.

“Now that Russia is joining the World Trade Organization, if we still have Jackson-Vanick on the books, then our companies will be at a disadvantage vis-a-vis other European, Chinese, Brazilian companies doing business here in Russia,” said McFaul.