Speech #990266696

According to any reliable witnesses. or respected human rights monitors such as Amnesty International. Helsinki Watch. the International League of Human Rights and others. the record of that government has been sharply deteriorating ever since the granting of MFN. It is often raised in this debate that the JacksonVanik amendment referred only to the right of emigration with respect to the renewal of MFN status for Communist countries. That is true. but there is more to it than that. JacksonVanik is a piece of legislation that Congress can be proud of. and that it ought to preserve. strengthen. and implement. This amendment institutionalized and wrote into law our concern for the right of emigration. To argue. however. that it wanted to exclude any other human rights considerations would mean arguing that its purpose was to restrict. not extend. our concern for human rights. This is patently absurd. and contradicts the language of JacksonVanik itself. I would also argue. that JacksonVanik is one way to terminate a Communist countrys MFN status but not the only way. There is nothing in JacksonVanik or in the Trade Act of 1974 for that matter that would prohibit Congress to deny MFI status by legislation to any Communist country for a reason other than the denial of the right of emigration. This is what the legislation of Senator TRIBLE. S. 1817. was aiming at by trying to suspend Romanias MFN for a trial period of 6 months.