The House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance held hearings this week on granting Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) to Russia.
CCIA sent a letter to both House and Senate committee members urging them to consider the issue of Internet freedom in Russia as part of their discussion of the U.S.-Russia relationship.
To extend PNTR, Congress would have to repeal the application of the Jackson-Vanik amendment, enacted in 1974 to prohibit normal trade relations with countries that violated human rights. While allowing Russia’s ETO entry would provide some economic benefits to both countries – that must be weighed against both the economic and human costs of Russia’s Internet restrictions. For more, see CCIA’s February post on this issue.