Congresswoman Corrine Brown made the following statement regarding passage of H.R. 6156, the Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012, which grants Permanent Trade Status to the nations of Russia and Moldova.
"As a long time member of the Russian Duma-U.S. Congress Study Group, a Member of the Serbian Caucus, as well as the Caucus on Azerbaijan, I am deeply involved in affairs relating to Russia and Eastern Europe, and have worked closely on issues of mutual importance to the United States and Eastern European countries. And I wholeheartedly believe that increasing our economic ties to the Russian Federation is in the best interests of the United States. Certainly, this legislation is a positive step forward since it will ensure that U.S. companies and their employees benefit from increased U.S. exports due to decreased trade barriers with Russia. The legislation also contains provisions to address concerns about Russia’s compliance with its WTO obligations, addresses bilateral trade issues between the United States and Russia (and Moldova), and promotes human rights and adherence to the rule of law. Indeed, PNTR with Russia, if enacted, will go a long way towards increasing U.S. exports to Russia and with that, create American jobs. Failing to grant this status to Russia will simply lead to a situation wherein Russia’s WTO membership will exclusively benefit our foreign competitors.”