Lift of Jackson-Vanik amendments postponed

Consideration of lift of the Jackson-Vanik amendments has been postponed by the US Senate until summer 2012 after ratification of WTO membership at the Russian parliament, head of the Senate’s Committee for Finances Max Bakus said, RIA Novosti reports.

Igor Rudensky, Chairman of the Russian Parliamentary Committee for Economic Policy, said after a meeting with Russian Minister for Economic Development Elvira Nabiullina that ratification is planned in May-June.

It is unclear whether the House of Representatives controlled by the Republicans will get enough votes. The press service of the committee for finances said that senators will discuss the issue in the near future. Discussions and votes are usually announced 48 hours ahead.

The Jackson-Vanik amendments were passed by the US Congress in 1974, limiting trade with the USSR as a response to migration limitations in the latter. Moratorium on the amendments has been prolonged every year since 1989. US officials say that the amendments will not allow American businessmen to make full use of operating in Russia after it joins the WTO this summer. Some Republicans are still opposed to lifting the amendments.