Russia against substitutions of Jackson-Vanik amendment

Moscow is against any replacements of the Cold War-era Jackson-Vanik Amendment with similar U.S. trade barriers in regard to Russia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said. “We do not want the abolishment of the amendment to be supplemented with a similar substitution including any links to trade issues,” the Russian diplomat said adding that Russia repeatedly expressed its interest to representatives of the U.S. administration in the repeal of the amendment. He said, however, that “in this context Russia must not be viewed as a country, which begs for something.” “The problem in its essence is American, since without the abolition of the amendment conditions for work on the Russian market will be less favorable for the American business, comparing with companies from other countries. That is why it is the American business, which is primarily interested in the abolishment of the amendment,” Ryabkov said. The amendment, named after Congressmen Henry M. Jackson and Charles Vanik, was introduced in 1974 to restrict trade with the Soviet Union and other non-market economies until they allowed free emigration. The Jackson-Vanik amendment limits trade with Russia and is an obstacle to the application of World Trade Organization (WTO) rules between the two countries. The restrictions imposed by Jackson-Vanik are often waived, but remain in place and are a thorn in the side of Russia-U.S. trade relations.