U.S. Likely to lift Russia trade restrictions

The United States Congress is considered likely to scrap Cold-War era trade restrictions on Russia, a senior World Trade Organization official said on Thursday, Dow Jones reported. “There is great confidence that when the moment is right, the United States will do what it has to do," Cheidu Osakwe, the WTO’s Director of Accessions told the Washington International Trade Association. Speaking on the day WTO members accepted Russia’s membership bid in December, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said the Obama administration would seek to restore “permanent normal trade relations,” with Russia, Dow Jones said. The U.S, has denied normal trade status with the Soviet Union and then Russia since the passage of the so-called Jackson-Vanik agreement in 1974, due to Soviet restrictions on Jewish emigration. The restrictions imposed by Jackson-Vanik are often waived, but remain in place and are a thorn in the side of Russia-U.S. trade relations.