Relations between Russia and the United States have not been called the Cold War for a long time, but until 2012, the Vanik-Jackson amendment formally operated in the United States, adopted back in 1974 and imposing restrictions on cooperation with the Russian Federation, and first with the USSR.
Adoption of the amendment
The Vanik-Jackson Amendment was passed to the United States of America Commerce Act in 1974. Named for the names of the legislators who proposed it - Congressman Charles Vanik and Senator Henry Jackson.
The amendment restricts U. S. trade with countries that hinder emigration and violate human rights. States have imposed sanctions against states that violate international norms.
One of the reasons for the adoption of the amendment was the restrictions that the Soviet Union imposed on the exit from its territory for persons of Jewish nationality.
The Trade Act was signed on January 3, 1975 by then US President Gerald Ford. The Jackson-Vanik amendment also included the USSR, whose export of goods to the United States was subject to duties 10 times higher than usual.
Cancellation path
In 1985, citizens of the Soviet Union were given the opportunity to freely travel and emigrate from the country. This right was also retained by the legal successor of the USSR - Russia. As a result, the meaning of the amendment was lost. However, since 1989, the US presidents have repeatedly imposed a moratorium on its action in relation to the USSR, and then the CIS states, but did not cancel it.
The Jackson-Vanik amendment negatively affected relations between Russia and the United States, recalling their past confrontation. In 2002, the States recognized that the Russian Federation is a country with a market economy. So the formal reasons for the amendment have finally disappeared.
In the same year, the US leadership tried to repeal the amendment in relation to Russia. President George W. Bush has asked Congress to resolve this issue. However, as soon as it seemed that all the formalities would be settled, Russia banned the import of chicken meat from the United States, and work stopped.
In 2000, the United States removed another state, China, from the amendment. In addition, at the beginning of the century, restrictions on trade with a number of CIS countries ceased to apply: Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Ukraine.
Cancellation
In 2008, Barack Obama was elected President of the United States, whose administration several times announced its intention to cancel the amendment in relation to the Russian Federation. This promise was eventually kept. On November 16, 2012, the repeal of the Jackson-Vanik Amendment was approved by the lower house of the US Congress. A law allowing the amendment to be canceled in relation to Russia and Moldova was later passed by the Senate. On December 20, 2012, President Obama signed the corresponding declaration.
