Speech #1010027495

The American Jewish Committee also applauded Bush. but said his statement "could go further in setting criteria for Soviet actions." [From the Washington Post. May 12. 1989] MR. VANxx AmSNDS His AMENDMENT Whether Charles Vanik was right the first time on Soviet trade and emigration is still much disputed. As a congressman he put his namte on the 1974 legislation that ties SovietAmerican trade to liberal Soviet emigration. Trade. detente and emigration subsequently faltered. But. you could say. different factors were at work. and that was then. Mr. Vanik. having left Congress. is now a trade lawyer. and he thinks the Soviet Union has freed up emigration to the point that it makes sense to waive the JacksonVanik amendment and restore normal tariff (and credit) conditions to Moscow. It seems to us that this time around hes on the right track. Jews. Armenians and Pentecostas are now leaving the Soviet Union in the tens of thousandsfaster than the United States can absorb Soviet Jews who prefer this country to Israel. The list of longterm refuseniks is shortening too slowly. but Soviet authorities are working on legislation to regularize the emigration rules. a complicating factor seems to be that they want to make sure first how these rules affect other "nationality" groups with kin outside the Soviet border. Opportunities for cultural and religious observance within the Soviet Union are expanding. Responding to the good news. American Jewish monitoring organizations are moving closer to releasing the veto that. as a practical political matter. they wield over a presidential waiver decision. Especially in human rights cases. there is a continuing moral obligation to maintain vigilance and not to yield the pass too soon. But there is also a responsibility to take account of Soviet developments and to make a balanced judgment about what will best ensure a healthy emigration flow. It is a good thing. we think. that the relaxation evident in this aspect of Soviet policy arises not simply from a desire to expand tradethe Soviets do have other trading partners. including the United States competitorsbut from a drive to modernize the whole of Soviet society. This roots emigration changes in far deeper soil. With the emigration issue apparently coming unstuck. some Americans are tempted to legislate new and broader human rights. economic and political conditions on SovietAmerican trade. Such a response of upping the ante after each Soviet advance seems to us to promise no good. The at best checkered record of the JacksonVanik amendment ought to sober those who would draft new amendments. In emigration. as elsewhere. the broad interest of the West is served by the domestic renewal the Soviet Union is pursuing under its own steam.