House Resolution 475 would overturn the Presidents recent decision to extend mostfavorednation trading status for Romania for 1 more year. I oppose the motion and the resolution on both substantive and procedural grounds. My substantive concerns over the resolution stem from the fact that title IV of the Trade Act of 1974the JacksonVanik amendmentis aimed at promoting the freedom for citizens from Communist countries to emigrate to the country of their choice. It is not a human rights law. as the sponsors of House Resolution 475 would have you believe. The annual MFN renewal process has proved to be a highly effective lever in achieving the goal of increased emigration. The numbers speak for themselves: In 1975. the year that MFN was granted to Romania. only 6.975 Romanians were allowed by their Government to leave for the United States. Israel. or Germany. In 1985. 17.350 Romanians were allowed to depart to those countries. Legal emigration from Romania now exceeds the combined total emigration from the Soviet Union. Hungary. Bulgaria. and Czechoslovakia.
Keywords matched
emigrate emigration