US President Barack Obama has urged Congress to ban the Jackson-Vanik amendment in the near future due to Russia's impending membership of the WTO, BBC reports.
Obama says that WTO membership will oblige the US to have normal trade relations with Russia. The Jackson-Wanik amendment of 1974 would not allow it. The president wants Congress to lift the amendment by the end of 2011, before the Congress goes on holiday.
The Jackson-Vanik amendment forbids the US to have normal trade ties with states limiting migration of own citizens. It was initially used against the Soviet Union over its policies towards Jews.
