U.S Lawmakers Demand End to Curbs on Trade with Ukraine

WASHINGTON, DC -- A bipartisan group of House members demanded on Nov. 2 the repeal of Cold War-era legislation that prevents Ukraine from joining the World Trade Organization.

Rep. Curt Weldon
With Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov at his side, Rep. Curt Weldon said the curbs on Ukrainian trade under the 1974 Jackson-Vanik amendment should be lifted immediately.

"It's time to elevate Ukraine out of Jackson-Vanik," said Weldon, who co-chairs a U.S.-Ukraine joint legislative group.

Yekhanurov said quick movement toward Ukraine's WTO membership was important because of Russia's interest in joining.

If Russia joins while the Ukraine bid lags behind, Moscow would use its influence to keep its western neighbor out, Yekhanurov said, speaking through an interpreter.

The Ukrainian leader spoke after a breakfast with about two dozen legislators who strongly support the country's pro-democracy "orange revolution."

Weldon said there is no reason for Ukraine to still be under Jackson-Vanik because neither the administration nor the Congress supports the status quo.

He said President George W. Bush expressed surprise not long ago that the Jackson-Vanik restriction still applied to Ukraine.

The amendment effectively denies unconditional normal trade relations to countries that had non-market economies and restricted emigration rights.

Its chief target was the Soviet Union, of which Ukraine was a republic.

Weldon said U.S. groups that once supported Jackson-Vanik now agree that it should no longer apply to Ukraine.

As examples, he mentioned the American Jewish Committee and the National Council on Soviet Jewry.

Rep. Joseph Crowley said that since Jackson-Vanik was adopted, "times have changed dramatically. It's time that our own laws catch up with these changes."

Later, after a meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Yekhanurov told reporters that Ukraine's parliament needed to take steps to qualify for WTO membership.

He said he expressed hope to Rice that the administration would do what it can to promote Ukraine's accession.

Source: AP