US Chamber of Commerce president in Moscow

The US Chamber of Commerce is going to urge the American administration to officially recognize the market status of the Russian economy, said the Chamber's president Thomas Donaghue at a press conference in Moscow. The necessity of this recognition is due to "closer and more intensive cooperation between the two economies and stronger positive trends in Russian-American trade and economic cooperation on the whole," he said. When touching upon some difficulties in the bilateral economic relations, such as US limitations on Russian steel imports, introduced in March, Donaghue said that these limitations "will not last long" as "the decision on these measures was political and therefore improper." He also stressed that his organization would do its best to abolish the notorious Jackson-Vanick amendment of 1974 that limits the US-Russia trade. The USA expects Russia to continue its economic reforms and to lift all investment limitations, said Donaghue. Joining the WTO will let Russia to substantially increase an inflow of foreign investments in the country's economy, he said.