Washington DC – USA*Engage and the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today released a statement urging Congress to oppose the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012, H.R. 4405 and S. 1039, respectively. In advance of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s markup of the bill on Thursday, the groups cautioned Members against supporting the legislation, as it would impose a global unilateral U.S. sanctions regime, needlessly complicate relations with Russia and invite collateral damage to U.S. diplomatic relations worldwide.

“The Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act is seriously flawed,” said NFTC President and USA*Engage Co-Chairman Bill Reinsch. “This legislation would harm U.S. relations with Russia and many other nations, and would jeopardize the significant benefits arising from Russian concessions during its WTO accession negotiations.”

“This legislation, if passed, would entail significant diplomatic and political consequences. For one, as it is written, it mandates sanctions regarding potential human rights violations beyond Russian persons responsible for the death of Sergei Magnitsky,” said USA*Engage Director Richard Sawaya. “The legislation lacks any clear process to determine what constitutes ‘responsibility’ or define ‘gross human rights violations.’”

“Additionally, Members of the House and Senate would be authorized to propose persons to be included on the list, a process almost certain to confuse further domestic politics with international relations,” Sawaya continued. “The bills also extend the scope of sanctions to ‘agents’ – an undefined term that is an open invitation to litigation. There is no warrant for this legislation, as the Administration has already moved to enact appropriate measures regarding Sergei Magnitsky and human rights generally. We, therefore, strongly urge Congress to vote against the Magnitsky Act.”

“USA*Engage and the NFTC appreciate the desire of Congress to be heard on human rights violations in Russia. We urge Congress in its consideration of this legislation to limit its scope to measures already taken by the Executive Branch to deny visas to Russian persons with a direct involvement in the death of Sergei Magnitsky,” Reinsch concluded.

The NFTC and USA*Engage strongly support legislation repealing the Jackson-Vanik amendment, providing permanent normal trade relations (PNTR), and thus allowing American companies to compete on a level playing field in Russia following its WTO accession this summer.

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About USA*Engage
USA*Engage (www.usaengage.org) is a coalition of small and large businesses, agriculture groups and trade associations working to seek alternatives to the proliferation of unilateral U.S. foreign policy sanctions and to promote the benefits of U.S. engagement abroad. Established in 1997 and organized under the National Foreign Trade Council (www.nftc.org), USA*Engage leads a campaign to inform policymakers, opinion leaders, and the public about the counterproductive nature of unilateral sanctions, the importance of exports and overseas investment for American competitiveness and jobs, and the role of American companies in promoting human rights and democracy worldwide.
 

Washington DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) and USA*Engage today released the following statement in response to the Senate’s approval of the Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Human Rights Act of 2012.

“Last evening, the Senate voted to add further unilateral measures to the maze of sanctions directed at the Islamic Republic of Iran. While the provisions appear moderate as compared to the House-passed package the Senate rejected, their unilateral cast, in the midst of ongoing negotiations between the Islamic Republic and the P5 plus one countries, at best muddy the waters,” said NFTC President Bill Reinsch. “We hope that Congress will take a collective breath and permit the Administration to carry through with the negotiations. The Administration has managed to date to effectively marshal a multilateral approach to using economic sanctions as a negotiating tool.”

“Imposing unilateral prohibitions on any entity involved in joint ventures with an Iranian entity anywhere in the world in the energy sector as a matter of law could entail unintended consequences for companies, U.S. or foreign, that have no involvement in Iran’s energy sector. Similarly, requiring companies that trade on the U.S. stock exchange to disclose any Iran-related business to the Securities and Exchange Commission, whether sanctionable or not, at best amounts to another unfunded mandate on the private sector and at worst may expose companies to unwarranted public attack,” said USA*Engage Director Richard Sawaya.

About USA*Engage

USA*Engage (www.usaengage.org) is a coalition of small and large businesses, agriculture groups and trade associations working to seek alternatives to the proliferation of unilateral U.S. foreign policy sanctions and to promote the benefits of U.S. engagement abroad. Established in 1997 and organized under the National Foreign Trade Council (www.nftc.org), USA*Engage leads a campaign to inform policymakers, opinion leaders, and the public about the counterproductive nature of unilateral sanctions, the importance of exports and overseas investment for American competitiveness and jobs, and the role of American companies in promoting human rights and democracy worldwide.
 

Washington DC – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the US-ASEAN Business Council, and the National Foreign Trade Council today issued the following joint statement strongly endorsing the appointment of Derek Mitchell as Ambassador to Myanmar. The groups also endorsed the statement by the administration that the United States will suspend some of the economic sanctions it maintains against Myanmar.

“We applaud this announcement, which is a step forward in ending Myanmar’s international isolation. It demonstrates that the United States stands with other like-minded countries, including Australia, Canada, and the EU in recognizing the significant political and economic reforms that Myanmar has undertaken, and in seeking to ensure that the reform process continues. We encourage Congress to move forward with this nomination quickly and look forward to working with Ambassador Mitchell as the administration moves forward on allowing the resumption of economic ties with Myanmar.

“We look forward to receiving clear guidelines from the administration on exactly what changes will be made to the sanctions regime. We welcome Secretary Clinton’s statement that American companies from all sectors will be able to work in Myanmar. A situation where American companies are allowed to invest in certain sectors while excluding others will not prevent those sectors from being developed in Myanmar; it will simply ensure that our competitors fill the void, as they are already doing, and that jobs which could be given to American workers will go elsewhere.

“Further, we welcome Senator McCain’s recent call for American business to set the global standard for Corporate Social Responsibility in Myanmar. This is an area where American companies are leaders, and their CSR initiatives will benefit the people of Myanmar, as will their high standards of transparency and corporate governance. Myanmar’s leadership has made it clear that it welcomes American investment, and in many ways sees it as preferable to that of some of our competitors for precisely these reasons.

“We encourage the administration to continue to open pathways for economic engagement. We look forward to clear guidance on how businesses interested in working in Myanmar should proceed.”