Speech #990221768

The concern here is how we best approach this issue. I do not believe that bringing House Resolution 475 to the floor today is the best approach to deal with the problem. The JacksonVanik amendment grants preferential trade credits on the basis of emigration policy. It is not a general human rights program. Let me cite from section 402 of the Trade Act of 1974. which explicitly ties the granting of MFN to a countrys performance on emigration only. not a general status of respect for human rights. * * * products from any nonmarket economy country shall be eligible to receive MFN * * * if the President reports to Congress that he has received assurances that the emigration practices of that country will henceforth lead substantially to the achievement of the objectives of this section. We are attempting to be consistent with the law that this Congress has lead out. and the President is attempting to meet the spirit and the letter of that law. When Mr. GIBBONS. the chairman. and Mr. FRENZEL and Mr. LANTOS and I were in Romania a few years ago. there was a different problem. and it also was emigration. It involved an education tax on everybody who wanted to leave the country. They would have to pay back to the Government all of the cost of their education. Now that smacked at the emigration policy. I recall the gentlemen who are here this afternoon who were in that meeting pressing Ceausescu. even threatening him. on MFN if he were to continue with that onerous policy. He subsequently withdrew the policy. and again met the basic test of MFN. the JacksonVanik amendment.