FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: (202) 225-6649
October 7, 1998
No. TR-31
Congressman Philip M. Crane (R-IL), Chairman, Subcommittee on Trade of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee is requesting written public comments for the record from all parties interested on the extension of unconditional normal trade relations (NTR) to the Kyrgyz Republic.
BACKGROUND:
At present, the trade status of the Kyrgyz Republic is subject to the Jackson-Vanik amendment to Title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-618), the provision of law governing the extension of NTR to nonmarket economy countries ineligible for such status as of the enactment of the Trade Act. A country subject to this provision may gain NTR, including NTR tariff treatment, only by complying with the freedom-of-emigration criteria under the Trade Act and by concluding a bilateral commercial agreement with the United States providing for reciprocal nondiscriminatory treatment. The extension of NTR is also subject to Congressional approval. The Trade Act authorizes the President to waive the requirements for full compliance with respect to a particular country if he determines that such a waiver will substantially promote the freedom-of-emigration provisions and if he has received assurances that the emigration practices of the country will lead substantially to the achievement of those objectives.
On April 13, 1992, the President determined that a waiver for the Kyrgyz Republic from the Jackson-Vanik freedom-of-emigration criteria would substantially promote the emigration objectives of the Trade Act. This determination was followed on April 16, 1992, by Executive Order 12802 under which the President's waiver determination entered into force. NTR, then most-favored-nation (MFN) treatment, was first extended to the Kyrgyz Republic effective August 21, 1992, following the country's ratification of the provisions in the bilateral trade agreement concluded on May 18, 1992, between the United States and the Kyrgyz Republic. Previously, Congress approved the United States-Soviet Union agreement in a joint resolution signed into law on December 9, 1991 (P.L. 102-197). No further Congressional action was required to approve the extension of NTR to the Kyrgyz Republic because the agreement ratified by that country in 1992 reflected only technical changes in the previously approved original agreement with the Soviet Union.
NTR with the Kyrgyz Republic continued in effect under Presidential waivers in subsequent years. On December 5, 1997, the President determined that the Kyrgyz Republic was in full compliance with the Jackson-Vanik freedom-of-emigration criteria.
Pursuant to section 122 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (P.L. 103-465) requiring Congressional consultation prior to country accessions to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the United States Trade Representative transmitted detailed materials to the Committee on Ways and Means on September 24, 1998, on the pending accession of the Kyrgyz Republic to the WTO. On October 14, 1998, the WTO Working Party on the Accession of the Kyrgyz Republic is scheduled to hold its final meeting to approve the protocol package and the invitation to the Kyrgyz Republic to become a member of the WTO. Because the United States has not extended unconditional NTR status to the Kyrgyz Republic, as a result of application of the Jackson-Vanik amendment to that country, the United States must invoke the non-application clause of the WTO (Article XXXV), meaning that it will not be able to apply the WTO Agreemeets to the Kyrgyz Republic after its accession to the WTO.
On September 22, 1998, Rep. Gerald Solomon (R-NY) introduced legislation, H.R. 4606, authorizing the President to determine that the Jackson-Vanik amendment should no longer apply with respect to the Kyrgyz Republic. If the bill were to become law, the United States would be able to extend NTR to the Kyrgyz Republic, and all rights and obligations under the WTO agreed to by the two countries would apply.
In 1997, U.S. exports to the Kyrgyz Republic in 1997 totaled $28.4 million, while U.S. imports in return totaled $2.4 million. Top U.S. exports to the Kyrgyz Republic last year included cereals, machinery, inorganic chemicals and rare earth metals, and fats and oils. Leading U.S. imports from the Kyrgyz Republic in 1997 included inorganic chemicals and rare earth metals, base metals, and machinery.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, with their name, address, and comments date noted on label, by the close of business, Friday, November 6, 1998, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.