Moscow hopes for early annulment of Jackson-Vanik amendment

The Russian Ministry of Economic Development and Trade hopes that the discriminatory Jackson-Vanik amendment with regard to Russia will be annulled in the next few months.

Deputy Minister Maxim Medvedkov spoke about it at the conference on Russia's joining the World Trade Organization in Nizhny Novgorod (Volga region).

This amendment to the American trade legislation, adopted by the Congress in 1974 on the initiative of Senators Jackson and Vanik, tied the trade and economic relations between the USA and Russia with the level of emigration of Soviet citizens, mainly to Israel. Today it is applied to Russia.

"The US Presidential Administration has come out for annulling the amendment, but there are forces in the Congress which do not want to do it, trying to connect the annulment of the amendment with Russia's entry into the WTO," added Maxim Medvedkov.

At the same time he noted that from the point of view of the economy, this amendment is not very important, being a political instrument.

The deputy minister underscored that at the present time the freedom of going abroad has been guaranteed to Russian citizens by the Constitution of the country.