Washington DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today welcomed Senate Finance Committee approval of a bill to establish permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with Russia. The NFTC released the following statement.
“We applaud the Senate Finance Committee for its unanimous approval of legislation to grant Russia PNTR today, and commend the leadership of Chairman Baucus and Ranking Member Hatch,” said NFTC President Bill Reinsch. “Today’s vote is an important step toward ensuring that U.S. companies, service providers, farmers and workers reap all of the market-opening benefits of Russia’s accession to the WTO. We urge the House Ways and Means Committee to take similar action in the coming days to allow for House and Senate floor approval of Russia PNTR legislation in the last remaining legislative days before the August recess.”
“While we are pleased with the Senate Finance Committee’s approval of Russia PNTR, we are disappointed that the bill passed today includes the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act. The Act, which addresses legitimate human rights concerns, contains a number of problematic provisions that will unnecessarily complicate U.S.-Russia relations and create a new global unilateral sanction regime for the U.S. government to use against virtually any foreign person for vaguely defined reasons,” said Reinsch.
Yesterday, Reinsch, who serves as Co-Chair of NFTC’s sister organization, USA*Engage, sent a
letter including these arguments to all members of the Senate Finance Committee. The letter also urged members to revise several provisions of the Act.
About the NFTC
Advancing Global Commerce for Nearly A Century- The National Foreign Trade Council (www.nftc.org) is a leading business organization advocating an open, rules-based global trading system. Founded in 1914 by a broad-based group of American companies, the NFTC now serves hundreds of member companies through its offices in Washington and New York.
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