U.S. Senate Approves Motion Seeking Jackson-Vanik Repeal for Ukraine

WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. Senate approved a motion seeking to repeal the Jackson-Vanik provision on Ukraine, a sign that trade restrictions imposed 31 years ago may soon end, RIA Novosti, a Russian newswire, reported Saturday.


The motion will have to be approved by the House of Representatives and signed by U.S. President George W. Bush in order to take affect.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, in a statement issued on Sunday, said the development underscores a growing strategic partnership between Ukraine and the U.S.

“This is a long awaited step that will remove a problem in bilateral relations,” the ministry said in the statement posted on its website.

The Jackson-Vanik provision, part of the 1974 Trade Act, was originally imposed on the Soviet Union to punish it for its refusal to let Jews emigrate to Israel and the United States.

The provision barred the Soviet Union — and, after the 1991 communist collapse, the 15 independent, post-Soviet states — from gaining most-favored-nation status. In recent years, some of the post-Soviet states have been “graduated” from Jackson-Vanik. Others, such as Russia and Ukraine, receive yearly waivers.

While the trade measure has no direct economic impact, it retains symbolic power that, many Ukrainians insist, deters foreign companies from investing in the country.

Lifting the provision was one of the key issues that had been negotiated between Ukraine and the U.S. over the past several years. Other issues include granting a market economy status to Ukraine and support for the country’s joining of the World Trade Organization before the end of the year.

All these issues have been most recently discussed during a visit by Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov to Washington earlier this month.

Ukraine has been rapidly moving towards greater cooperation with the U.S. following a victory by Viktor Yushchenko, a pro-Western politician, at presidential election a year ago. Yushchenko asked for repealing the provision while addressing a joint session of Congress during his visit to the U.S. in April.

Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), a prominent backer of lifting the provision, said in a recent interview with The Hill, an official publication of the Congress: “It’s really an embarrassment that when Yushchenko was here we didn’t get that bill up on the floor.”

While most members of the House International Relations Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee — Republicans and Democrats alike — support lifting Jackson-Vanik from Ukraine and Russia, some members believe the measure is a useful bargaining chip.

Source: Ukrainian Journal