Obama grants Russia 'permanent normal trade relations'
Purchase this article for republication
Buy SPH photosWASHINGTON (REUTERS) - President Barack Obama on Thursday formally granted "permanent normal trade relations" to Russia, following recent congressional action that cleared the way for him to remove a Cold War-era vestige on trade.
"The Russian Federation has been found to be in full compliance with the freedom of emigration requirement" under the 1974 Jackson-Vanik amendment, Obama said in a proclamation.
That provision tied favourable US tariffs rates to the rights of Jews in the former Soviet Union to emigrate freely.
