Eurasianet says the Biden Administration and Kazakhstan are both eager to boost mutual trade and investment, but an antiquated vestige of the Cold War known as the Jackson-Vanik amendment remains an impediment to stronger US-Kazakh economic ties.
Kazakhstan is currently working to terminate the application of the Jackson-Vanik amКопироватьendment.
Eurasianet notes that speaking at an investment forum, which was held in Washington this summer, Kazakhstan’s ambassador to the United States, Yerzhan Ashikbayev, characterized Astana’s removal from the Jackson-Vanik list as “low-hanging fruit.”
For some reason, though, congressional representatives have left the matter untouched.
The Jackson-Vanik amendment to the Trade Act of 1974 rendered certain countries ineligible for normal trade relations with the United States due to restrictions on emigration, specifically that of Soviet Jews seeking to leave the USSR. Although the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Jackson-Vanik lived on.
Meanwhile, some experts note that the amendment is an outdated trade policy that is holding back the US partnerships with Central Asia’s nations. They call for ending the Cold War-era trade restrictions for Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan and granting those countries permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative says the United States Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai held bilateral meetings with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and representatives of the Government of Uzbekistan in June this year. Ambassador Tai reportedly welcomed engagement on reforms in Uzbekistan as well as Uzbekistan’s interest in the expeditious termination of the application of the Jackson-Vanik amendment.
Mr. Daniel Runde, a senior executive and strategist in international development, international trade, investment, global business and organizational change, noted in August this year that continuation of the amendment today is counterproductive “because it is used as a broad-spectrum human rights lever against a small number of former Soviet republics.”
According to him, Kazakhstan, in particular, is a prime example of why the continued application of Jackson-Vanik is outdated. “The country has met all the criteria to be repealed from the Amendment. In 2022, the Department of Commerce recognized Kazakhstan as a market economy under US trade law, acknowledging its substantive economic reforms,” Mr. Runde noted.
The amendment’s continued existence is now a barrier in Central Asia. “These countries are integral to our future security and diplomatic strategies, and they need to see the US as a credible partner. We should remove these Central Asian countries from Jackson-Vanik or even repeal Jackson-Vanik,” the expert said.
Approved in 1974, the Jackson-Vanik amendment was a cornerstone of the US response to the Soviet Union during the Cold War, but not it is reportedly an outdated trade policy that is holding back the United States’ partnerships with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.
Of five Central Asia’s nations, only Kyrgyzstan was freed from the amendment’s burden in 1998. Russia was freed from the Jackson-Vanik amendment in 2012.
