According to an Associated Press report from Moscow, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk stated in a speech to the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia that “it’s necessary for us to lift Jackson-Vanik”. There doesn’t seem to be any transcript or video of Kirk’s speech, but you can see the AmCham page about the event for more details.
Jackson-Vanik, also known as the Freedom of Emigration in East West Trade provision (19 USC § 2432), disallows normal trade relations with non-market economy countries which “impose more than a nominal tax on emigration or … on any citizen as a consequence of the desire of such citizen to emigrate”. Petros wrote about this provision back in January.
