Azernews.Az

US Republican Senator Richard Lugar has introduced legislation to repeal restrictions on trade with Azerbaijan.
The bill, which also applies to Kazakhstan, is designed to extend permanent normal trade relations with the country.
"Azerbaijan is still subject to the provisions of the Jackson-Vanik amendment to the Trade Act of 1974, which sanctions nations for failure to comply with freedom of emigration requirements. This bill would repeal permanently the application of Jackson-Vanik to Azerbaijan," Lugar said in a congressional statement.
He said that in the post Cold War era, Azerbaijan allows its citizens the right and opportunity to emigrate and has demonstrated a commitment to meet these requirements. "In addition, Azerbaijan has expressed a strong desire to abide by free market principles and good governance. Since 1992, Azerbaijan has been certified annually as meeting the Jackson-Vanik requirements. This legislation would make this trade relationship permanent and, in doing so, stimulate further market reforms and encourage its continued commitment to safeguarding individual liberties."
Senator Lugar, who paid a visit to Baku two weeks ago, recalled that he had met with President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva. "We had an interesting discussion on the important role Azerbaijan is playing in energy recovery and transportation. It is a tribute to Azerbaijan that they are using their energy resources to the benefit of global security. Building pipelines and opening energy production to foreign markets requires difficult foreign policy decision-making. Azerbaijan is located in a tough neighborhood where countries are under tremendous pressure to keep their distance from the United States. I thanked President Aliyev for taking concrete steps to affirm his country's strategic partnership with the United States."
Lugar said further that in some countries oil and gas revenues are a curse, leading to corruption and conflict. "Two years ago President Aliyev pledged to me that Azerbaijan would follow the Norway model in managing its oil and gas revenues. As reflected by the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan's receipt in 2007 of the United Nations Public Service Award, it is now on a path of transparency and is investing for development today and for future generations. I am hopeful that progress in Azerbaijan will continue and other emerging countries learn from Azerbaijan's example."
"One of the areas where we can deepen U.S.-Azerbaijan relations is bilateral trade. In light of its adherence to freedom of emigration requirements, compliance with threat reduction and unwavering cooperation in the production and delivery of energy supplies, the products of Azerbaijan should not be subject to the sanctions of Jackson-Vanik. The U.S. must remain committed to and engaged in assisting Azerbaijan's pursuit of democratic and human rights reforms," the senator said.
The Jackson-Vanik amendment was applied against the Soviet Union 34 years ago. The US Congress then demanded that the USSR protect freedom of emigration to maintain normal economic and trade ties. Although the amendment concerned the bans applied by the Soviet government on the emigration of Jews from the country, it was enforced for all former Soviet republics. In 1985, the USSR leadership recognized citizens' right to emigrate, and the amendment essentially lost its importance. The U.S. froze the restrictions since 1989 for the USSR and further for the Commonwealth of Independent States, the successor of USSR. In 1994, Russia was guaranteed conducive trade regulations with the United States. The amendment was lifted for Georgia and Kyrgyzstan in 2000 and for Armenia in 2004. The lifting of the restrictions for Ukraine is also on the agenda.