Levin introduces bill to graduate Ukraine from 1974 Jackson-Vanik trade restrictions

by Serhiy Zhykharev
Ukrainian National Information Service

WASHINGTON - Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) introduced House Resolution 4723 (H.R. 4723), proposing to graduate Ukraine from the Jackson-Vanik amendment of the 1974 Trade Act, which limits U.S. trade with countries that do not allow free emigration of their citizens.

This legislation was designed to protect the interests of Jewish communities in totalitarian regimes and ensure their freedom to emigrate. As a successor of the former Soviet Union, Ukraine, too, must adhere to the Jackson-Vanik Amendment with a yearly waiver enacted by the U.S. president. Since re-establishing independence in 1991, however, Ukraine has reformed its laws significantly and has successfully eliminated the obstacles to emigration of its citizens imposed by the Soviet Union.

Rep. Levin's House Resolution, 4723, which he introduced on May 14, proposes to relieve Ukraine from the required evaluation process. This resolution would allow Ukraine to expand trade with the United States, as well as to remove the Cold War-era, stigma connected to the Jackson-Vanik Amendment.

"Since gaining independence in 1991, Ukraine has taken important steps toward the creation of democratic institutions and free-market economy and, as a member-state of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), is committed to developing a system of governance in accordance with the principles regarding human rights and humanitarian affairs that are set forth in the final act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (also known as the Helsinki Final Act), states HR 4723.

HR 4723 is a result of the Ukrainian National Information Service's active work on Capitol Hill advocating this issue. UNIS has met with members of the Trade Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee, as well as members of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus and provided them with information regarding the economic achievements and democratic reforms in Ukraine. UNIS also provided information on the tremendous improvements in the current life of the Jewish community in Ukraine: government-sponsored Hebrew schools; multiple local and national Jewish publications; revival of religious life; and gradual restitution of Jewish communal property to its rightful owners.

The NCSJ (formerly known as National Council on Soviet Jewry), a U.S. organization dealing with the problems faced by Jewish communities in the former Soviet Union, agreed in mid-January of 2002 that the Jewish Ukrainian community is indeed experiencing a renaissance, while expressing hope for a speedier process regarding restitution of former synagogues and communal property.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, June 9, 2002, No. 23, Vol. LXX

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