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White House PHOTO: Pixabay
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The US Congress has voted to end normal trade relations with Moscow, while the White House is stepping up pressure on President Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine.
The legislation, which also applies to Russia’s ally Belarus and allows President Joe Biden to impose high tariffs on imports, was passed unanimously by the Senate and then approved by the House of Representatives, BGNES reported.
The cessation of normal trade relations means that Russian and Belarusian imports will not be treated as products of the most favored nations on the US market. The cessation of this treatment for Russia and Belarus will allow the US administration to impose higher tariffs on Russian and Belarusian goods than on other countries that are members of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The bill will also expand the provisions of the Global Human Rights Act “Magnitsky”, which will facilitate the imposition of sanctions on those who, according to Washington, are responsible for human rights violations.
The intention of the United States and its North Atlantic allies to withdraw from normal trade relations with Russia was announced earlier by US President Joe Biden. He said each of these countries intends to take steps to deprive Russia of its most-favored-nation status. However, the United States had to gain the approval of lawmakers to abolish this status.
The House of Representatives has already passed a bill to tighten trade rules with Russia and Belarus. However, some changes were made during the consideration of the initiative in the Senate. Today, the upper house unanimously approved its version of the document, after which it was returned for final approval to the lower house. Now the bill will be submitted for signature to the head of state.
The Most Favored Nation (MFN) regime, one of the founding principles of the World Trade Organization, implies that the contracting parties undertake to provide each other with the same favorable conditions in economic and trade relations as any third country. This applies in particular to customs privileges.
In 1992, the Russian Federation and the United States concluded a most-favored-nation agreement for goods on both sides, which has since been enjoyed by Washington on a permanent and unconditional basis. Until November 2012, Russia was covered by the Jackson-Vanik Amendment to the 1974 Commercial Law, which linked the development of trade relations to freedom of emigration. The head of the White House had to inform Congress each year of Moscow’s release from the amendment.
Since 1998, all US documents have used the term “normal trade relations” (STC) instead of “NON”. The decision to repeal the STC must be approved by Congress and includes an increase in tariffs on imports from the Russian Federation. Of Washington’s allies, Canada was the first to take such a step on March 3, when it announced that goods from Russia and Belarus imported into the country would be subject to a 35% duty. According to the Russian Federal Customs Service, trade with the United States last year amounted to $ 34.4 billion, including $ 17.5 billion in imports to the United States.
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