Top Republican, trade official press for clean Russia trade bill

A top House Republican and the Obama administration's leading trade official are pressing for Congress to pass a bill normalizing trade relations with Russia without tacking on human rights legislation. 

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said Wednesday they prefer a clean bill that repeals the obsolete Jackson-Vanik provision and grants Moscow permanent normal trade relations (PNTR).

"I think that legislation granting Russia PNTR should be clean and targeted, or else the legislation could be unduly complicated and delayed," Camp said during a hearing. 

Camp said while he shares the view of his colleagues that "Russia poses significant problems relating to foreign policy and human rights," he emphasized that "holding up PNTR because of non-trade concerns does not increase our leverage to address them and does not delay Russia’s WTO [World Trade Organization] accession."

"No matter what, Russia will join the WTO in a couple of months," he said. "To obtain the benefits of the concessions Russia made to join the WTO, we must grant Russia PNTR."

Meanwhile, the committee's ranking member Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) suggested that the human rights bill named for Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who died while in police custody, could be attached to the legislation. 

There is a growing push from House and Senate lawmakers to attach the Magnitsky legislation to the Jackson-Vanik repeal, which would pave the way for PNTR. 

Levin wants the House to wait to take a final vote on the trade measure until Russia shows a willingness to address the violence in Syria.

"It makes it difficult to move a trade bill when seeing slaughter in Syria," he said. 

"This Congress needs to find a way to express itself to move Russia to not look the other way as killing of innocent people in Syria continues," he said.

Kirk acknowledged "for some the timing could not be worse in the case of human rights," as Russia continues its involvement in the deteriorating situation in Syria.

Still, Kirk and Deputy Secretary of State William Burns argued that providing Russia with PNTR gives the United States better leverage beyond issues of trade, which include ramped-up enforcement of trade rules violations, as well as the issues surrounding the Syrian conflict. 

The State Department has taken actions to deny entry for Russian officials involved with the Magnitsky case, Burns said. 

Burns, who also suggested that the trade and human rights issues be handled on separate tracks, said improved trade relations should help Russia diversify its economy and bring "positive reinforcement" with the emergence of the middle class there. 

"It's very smart, long-term investment, granting PNTR, and WTO accession and playing by the rules," Burns said.  

Kirk said terminating Jackson-Vanik "is not a gift to Russia" but would, instead, serve to bolster U.S. exports to a high-demand region. 

He said, with PNTR, the Russian service sector such as banks and insurance would open to U.S. businesses, ramp up intellectual property protections, provide enforcement ability and better tackle the issue of state-owned enterprises. 

"Russia’s WTO membership is not a panacea," Kirk said. "But having clear rules of the road will provide the predictability, transparency and market access our businesses and exporters seek."

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has said he wants to link the Magnitsky bill with PNTR, an idea that has growing support in the upper chamber. His panel is set to hold a hearing Thursday on the issue. 

Advocates say U.S. businesses will suffer unless Congress passes legislation to establish normal trade ties with Russia when it joins the WTO in August. 

Russian leaders have scheduled a July 4 vote on joining the WTO, giving Congress 30 days to act before full membership goes into effect.