Central and East European Coalition for Ukraine's graduation from Jackson-Vanik restrictions (12/25/05)

Central and East European Coalition for Ukraine's graduation from Jackson-Vanik restrictions

Ukrainian Congress Committee of America

NEW YORK - In a December 9 letter to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.), the Central and East European Coalition (CEEC) urged support of House Resolution 1053, which would repeal the Jackson-Vanik amendment for Ukraine and grant the country permanent normal trade relations with the United States.

By encouraging the favorable consideration of H.R. 1053, the Central and East European Coalition is putting the weight of 18 national, grassroots organizations and more than 22 million Americans of Central and East European heritage behind the House bill. The member-organizations of the Central and East European Coalition constitute Americans of Armenian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Czech, Estonian, Georgian, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak and Ukrainian heritage, and thus represent a broad base of support for the measure.

Following the U.S. Senate's repeal of the Jackson-Vanik Amendment on November 18, Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.) introduced H.R. 1053, a bipartisan measure in the House of Representatives aimed at graduating Ukraine from the Cold War-era amendment and granting it permanent normal trade relations status.

"The elimination of this relic of Soviet-era politics," the Central and East European Coalition's letter reads, "will benefit American business in Ukraine, as well as increase trade with that country."

As Ukraine pursues World Trade Organization accession and European integration, and the United States seeks to foster new democracies, the repeal of the Jackson-Vanik Amendment takes on considerable global significance.

Given the recent statements of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the growing strategic partnership with Ukraine and the actions of the U.S. Senate in passing the repeal of the Jackson-Vanik amendment, H.R. 1053 has gained more prominence.

Repealing the Jackson-Vanik Amendment would be of clear benefit to Ukraine, as the CEEC's letter to Chairman Thomas states, "Ukraine is moving in the right direction, though sustained support from the United States Congress will assist Ukraine down its arduous path."

The letter was signed on behalf of the CEEC member-organizations by Nino Japaridze, president, Georgian Association in the U.S.; Lya M. Karm, M.D., chair, Joint Baltic American National Committee Inc.; and, Alice Kipel, Belarusian-American Association.

Michael Sawkiw Jr., president of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, expressed the organization's appreciation to the CEEC for its support of H.R. 1053: "This is a very sensitive issue for Ukraine and one that needs to be resolved quickly for the betterment of U.S.-Ukrainian bilateral relations. The letter from the CEEC, as well as individual letters from respective CEEC member-organizations, is both helpful and truly appreciated. We thank our Central and East European colleagues for their support."

The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America and the Ukrainian National Association were founding members of the Central and East European Coalition. Other coalition members include: the American Latvian Association, the Armenian Assembly of America, the Belarusian-American Association, the Bulgarian Institute for Research and Analysis, the Congress of Romanian Americans, the Czechoslovak National Council of America, the Estonian American National Council, the Georgian Association in the U.S.A., the Hungarian American Coalition, the Joint Baltic American National Committee, the Lithuanian-American Community, the Lithuanian American Council, the National Federation of American Hungarians, the Polish American Congress, the Slovak League of America and the U.S.-Baltic Foundation.

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