Posts Tagged ‘senate’
Business groups keep up pressure to pass Russia trade bill
Business groups are optimistic that Congress can clear legislation to normalize trade relations with Russia by next week, but intend to keep up the pressure until it’s done.
The Business Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Wednesday that repealing Jackson-Vanik and extending permanent normal trade relations to Moscow would provide a boost to the sagging economy.
The bill is feeding off the momentum from the Senate Finance Committee, which unanimously approved a measure last week that combines the repeal language with the human-rights legislation that would punish Russian officials involved in the death of whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer who died in prison after reporting government corruption.
Bill Miller, senior vice president of government affairs of BRT, called last week’s 24-0 vote “unprecedented” and is hoping that the House Ways and Means Committee will approve its bipartisan bill on Thursday and send it to the floor early next week.
“It looks like we are very close to getting Russia PNTR done,” Milller told reporters.
Passage in the House would give the Senate a chance to clear the bill for President Obama’s signature before Russia joins the World Trade Organization on Aug. 22.
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US moves closer to Russia trade bill
The US Congress is set to take a big step towards approving normal trade relations with Russia, brushing off geopolitical tensions to deliver a victory for large US exporters such as Caterpillar and General Electric.
The Ways and Means committee of the House of Representatives is expected to vote on a bill, probably on Thursday, that would allow US companies to reap the benefits from Russia’s looming accession to the World Trade Organisation. The so-called Magnitsky bill – which seeks to punish Russian officials for human rights abuses – will be attached to the legislation.
With both Republican and Democratic leaders on the panel endorsing the package, it should pass comfortably. This would bolster the chances of it being enacted before the August congressional recess – as its supporters are hoping for – though it may not happen until September or later in the year.
“The prospects have improved dramatically”, said Ron Pollett, chief executive of GE Russia, who was in Washington last week to lobby for the bill. “It’s a question of when, not if.”
The bill would unwind the Jackson-Vanik amendment, a Cold War relic that barred trade with the Soviet Union for restricting Jewish emigration. Its provisions have routinely been waived, but its presence has continued to sour US economic relations with Russia.
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Obama lets Russia get away with murder
Last Thursday, the governments of Russia and China vetoed yet another United Nations Security Council resolution that would have put sanctions on the crumbling Syrian regime of Bashar Assad. The two authoritarian powers, White House spokesman Jay Carney said, “are on the wrong side of history.”
This term has become a favorite expression of the Obama administration. In the past year, both Secretary of State Clinton and UN Ambassador Susan Rice have used the language to describe Russian and Chinese intransigence against sanctioning Assad.
Correct as the description may be, however, it is trite coming from an administration that has lobbied hard to water down legislation aimed at putting pressure on Assad’s most important friend: Russian President-for-life Vladimir Putin. Indeed, while it continually castigates the Russians for opposing sanctions on Assad, it appears that the Obama administration, too, will be “on the wrong side of history.”
Last week, the Senate Finance Committee passed the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, named for the brave Russian lawyer who was arrested, tortured and killed by Russian authorities after exposing a $230 million tax fraud scheme perpetrated by the Kremlin. Magnitsky was denied medical treatment and subjected to worsening conditions and ever more squalid cells. He conveniently passed away in pretrial detention on Nov. 16, 2009, eight days before the one-year mark when the Russian government would have been forced to either try or release him.
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Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak: On normal trade relations and the deficit of normalcy
Russia is about to formally enter the World Trade Organization. The State Duma and the Federation Council have both approved ratification documents, which were signed by the president of the Russian Federation on July 21, 2012. In August our country will become a full-fledged member of the WTO.
It took Russia 18 long years of intensive negotiations to settle all issues with the members of this global trade bloc. Accession to the organization is important for Russia as the largest economy outside the framework of the WTO. It is also potentially important for bilateral trade and economic cooperation with the United States.
To fully enjoy the benefits of Russia’s accession to the WTO, the United States will have to repeal the Jackson-Vanik amendment — a Cold War relic that used to bind bilateral trade to emigration restrictions in the former USSR. Failure to remove this obstacle will pose a problem for both Russian and American businesses. And, most probably, American companies will suffer more than ours.
But should we really have to measure who will suffer the most damage? Wouldn’t it be better to seek truly normal relations? While our countries are slowly moving in the right direction with regard to trade, political relations are still fragile and vulnerable to what I would call an extension of Cold War-era thinking.
The U.S. Congress is in the process of considering Permanent Normal Trade Relations, or PNTR, with Russia. This is something that should be welcomed, especially after so many years of absence of normalcy in our bilateral trade. In the meantime, the draft laws to achieve normalcy are bundled on Capitol Hill with legislation that has nothing to do with trade and would in fact deny normalcy in the relations between our countries. The so-called Magnitsky bill seems to be part of that bundle.
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US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations mark-up of “Magnitsky Act”
Here is some summary footage of the discussions that took place inside the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations where Senator John Kerry and Senator Ben Cardin discussed the application of a US visa ban on those Russian officials implicated in the Magnitsky case.
There is also some footage of the speech made by Senator John McCain at the film screening of the documentary entitles “The Magnitsky Files”, which was given its global debut on the 26 June 2012 in Washington DC.
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Optimism grows Russia trade bill will pass before August recess
Optimism is rising among lawmakers and trade advocates that Congress can pass a Russian trade bill before the August recess.
The bill to normalize trade relations with Moscow, which appeared hopelessly stalled before a Senate Finance Committee markup, found new life after winning unanimous support among panel members following an agreement crafted by Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and top Republican Orrin Hatch of Utah.
While actions last week — moving the joint trade and human rights bill through Senate Finance and locking in a bipartisan deal in the House — provide greater hope that Congress can get a bill to President Obama’s desk before Russia joins the World Trade Organization next month, lawmakers are running short on time.
“I remain confident this will get done by the August recess,” Christopher Wenk, head of international policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce told The Hill on Friday.
“The Chamber won’t let Congress leave town without getting it done.”
The broad support in the Senate Finance Committee for a bill that combines the repeal of the 37-year-old Jackson-Vanik provision to grant permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with a measure that punishes Russian officials involved in the death of whistleblower lawyer Sergei Magnitsky seemed to simultaneously surprise trade watchers and pave the way for a final resolution.
Although the chances for the bill to clear Congress are looking up, and the measure represents a bright spot amid the legislative logjam in Congress, there are no guarantees, supporters caution.
“Based on what I’ve been hearing, I wouldn’t say that they’re [lawmakers] confident about getting it done before the August recess,” said Ed Gerwin, a senior fellow for trade and global economic policy at Third Way.
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Senate Finance poised to approve Russia trade bill
Senators were poised Wednesday to clear the first hurdle to extend permanent normal trade relations to Russia, but plenty of uncertainty remains.
The Senate Finance Committee is expected to easily approve a measure combining a repeal of Jackson-Vanik, an obsolete Cold War-era provision, along with a human-rights measure that would punish Russian officials involved in the death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in prison.
“By enacting PNTR together with the Magnitsky bill, we are replacing Jackson-Vanik with legislation that addresses the corruption and accountability issues that Russia confronts today,” Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said.
The show of bipartisan support — Baucus and ranking member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) hammered out the compromise — could boost the bill’s chances of getting through Congress before lawmakers leave for a month-long August recess.
Russia is on track to join the World Trade Organization next month. All that is left for its accession is for President Vladimir Putin to sign the package, which passed through Russia’s upper chamber on Wednesday. Once Putin signs, the clock begins ticking, and Russia will become a member of the WTO within 30 days.
Still, there are plenty of pieces in play with no resolution in sight.
Lawmakers are divided over whether to pass a clean measure repealing the 1974 Jackson-Vanik amendment, while also holding Russia accountable for what lawmakers say is a dismal human-rights record.
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Senate Finance Reports Measure on PNTR For Russia, Moldova; Magnitsky Act Included
Key Development: Magnitsky bill included, vote is unanimous.
Next Steps: Kirk, Baucus, Camp to meet July 19.
The Senate Finance Committee July 18 unanimously reported legislation designed to allow the president to grant permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to Russia and Moldova.
The bill would also replace human rights sections of the Trade Act of 1974 with provisions, named after deceased tax attorney Sergei Magnitsky, targeting corrupt government officials in Russia and elsewhere.
In his opening remarks, Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) noted that the measure will make permanent the normal trade relations the United States already has had with Russia for the past 20 years and should double U.S. exports to Russia in five years.
The opportunities for increased trade with Russia are related to the massive Eurasian country joining the World Trade Organization in August after a 19-year accession process. The upper house of the country’s legislature July 18 approved the WTO accession package (see related report).
Baucus said hundreds of companies and trade associations have come out in favor of PNTR, as well as U.S. and Russian Jewish groups, including the National Conference on Soviet Jewry and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Section 402 of the Trade Act, the so-called Jackson-Vanik Amendment, requires an annual review of respect for emigration rights that was originally intended to support Jewish emigration from the former Soviet Union. The bill would terminate the application of this section along with the others in Title IV.
The annual review constitutes a condition according to WTO rules and is therefore at odds with the organization’s core principle of unconditional most favored nation (MFN) status, which is the term for PNTR used in international treaties. Absent MFN, Russia is not required to grant the terms of its accession package to the United States and U.S. companies.
Baucus noted that Moldova is the only WTO member with which the United States does not have permanent normal trade relations. “Like Russia,” Baucus said, “Moldova has allowed freedom of emigration for many years, and Moldova joined the WTO in 2001.”
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Senate panel approves normal trade relations with Russia, adds human rights provision
A Russia trade bill that could double U.S. exports to Russia but complicate already frosty relations with the former Communist superpower advanced in the Senate on Wednesday.
Lawmakers rejected a provision that would have required the president to certify that Russia is no longer supplying arms to Syria.
The Senate Finance Committee combined the trade measure with a bill to punish Russian human rights violators.
The committee’s unanimous vote to lift Cold War trade restrictions and establish permanent normal trade relations with Russia came against a background of strong objections to Russia’s poor human rights record, its threats against U.S. missile defenses in Europe, its failure to protect intellectual property rights, its discrimination against U.S. agricultural products and most recently its support for the Assad government in Syria.
Enacting permanent trade status is necessary if U.S. businesses are to benefit from the lowering of trade barriers that will take place when Russia enters the World Trade Organization next month.
Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said current U.S. exports to Russia, about $9 billion a year, could double in five years if trade relations are normalized.
“There is no time to waste. America risks being left behind,” Baucus said. “If we miss that deadline, American farmers, ranchers, workers and businesses will lose out to the other 154 members of the WTO that already have PNTR (permanent normal trade relations) with Russia.” U.S. imports from Russia last year were four times the export level.
Getting the trade bill through Congress has been a top priority for business and farm groups, which see it as a jobs creator and a boost to the economy. “Without PNTR, U.S. companies and workers will be at a distinct disadvantage in the Russian market as our competitors in Europe, Asia and elsewhere begin to lock in sales and long-term contracts,” said Caterpillar Inc. chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman, who also chairs the Business Roundtable’s International Engagement Committee.
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