[House Document 112-37]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
112th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 112-37
CONTINUATION OF WAIVER UNDER THE TRADE ACT OF 1974 WITH RESPECT TO THE
REPUBLIC OF BELARUS
__________
COMMUNICATION
from
THE ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY, LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS, THE DEPARTMENT OF
STATE
transmitting
NOTIFICATION OF THE DETERMINATION THAT A CONTINUATION OF A WAIVER
CURRENTLY IN EFFECT FOR THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS WILL SUBSTANTIALLY
PROMOTE THE OBJECTIVES OF SECTION 402, OF THE TRADE ACT OF 1974,
PURSUANT TO 19 U.S.C. 2432(c) AND (d)
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
June 21, 2011.--Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and
ordered to be printed
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U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
99-011 PDF WASHINGTON : 2011
Department of State,
Washington, DC, June 1, 2011.
Hon. John A. Boehner,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Dear Mr. Speaker: On behalf of the Secretary of State, we
are transmitting to you the Presidential determination and
Report to the Congress, referred to in Subsection 402(d)(1) of
the Trade Act of 1974 (the ``Act''), as amended, with respect
to the continuation of a waiver of application of Subsections
(a) and (b) of Section 402 of the Act for Belarus.
This document constitutes the Secretary's recommendation to
continue this waiver for a further 12-month period and includes
her determination that continuation of the waiver currently in
effect for Belarus will substantially promote the objectives of
Section 402 of the Act, and the reasons for such determination.
We hope this information will be helpful to you and other
Members of Congress. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we
can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
Joseph E. Macmanus,
Acting Assistant Secretary,
Legislative Affairs.
Enclosure: As stated.
Determination Under Subsection 402(d)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974, As
Amended--Continuation of Waiver Authority
Pursuant to the authority vested in the President under the
Trade Act of 1974, as amended, Public Law 93-618, 88 Stat. 1978
(hereinafter ``the Act''), and assigned to the Secretary of
State by virtue of Section 1(a) of Executive Order 13346 of
July 8, 2004, I determine, pursuant to Section 402(d)(1) of the
Act, 19 U.S.C. 2432(d)(1), that the further extension of the
waiver authority granted by Section 402 of the Act will
substantially promote the objectives of Section 402 of the Act.
I further determine that continuation of the waiver applicable
to Belarus will substantially promote the objectives of Section
402 of the Act.
This determination shall be published in the Federal
Register.
Hillary Rodham Clinton,
Secretary of State.
Report to the Congress Concerning the Extension of Waiver Authority for
Belarus
Pursuant to Subsection 402(d)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974,
as amended (``the Act''), and the authority assigned to me by
the President in Executive Order 13346 concerning Delegation of
Certain Waiver, Determination, Certification, and Reporting
Functions, dated July 8, 2004, I hereby recommend a further
extension for 12 months of the waiver granted by Subsection
402(c) of the Act.
I have determined that such an extension will substantially
promote the objectives of Section 402 of the Act, and that a
continuation of the waiver currently applicable to Belarus will
also substantially promote the objectives of Section 402 of the
Act.
Exercise of the waiver authority conferred by Section 402
of
the Act has permitted the United States to conclude and
maintain in force a bilateral trade agreement with Belarus.
(Exercise of the waiver authority with respect to Belarus would
also allow the U.S. government to engage in credit and
investment activities in Belarus, but some of those programs
have been suspended in Belarus due to strong concerns over the
Belarusian authorities' repressive economic and human rights
policies.)
FREEDOM OF EMIGRATION SITUATION IN BELARUS
The Belarusian Constitution of November 1996, although
adopted illegitimately, specifically grants citizens the right
to leave and return as they wish. Soviet-era restrictions on
emigration in Belarus have largely been dismantled, and
existing restrictions are applied in a manner generally
allowing free emigration. None of the human rights or religious
minority organizations--including Jewish organizations--report
discriminatory restrictions limiting the ability of citizens to
emigrate on the basis of ethnic or religious identity in 2010
or the first part of 2011. Soviet-era legislation restricting
emigration by those with access to ``state secrets'' does
remain in force in Belarus. There are also exit restrictions on
those who are involved in criminal investigations, convicted of
crimes, attempting to evade military service, or have
outstanding debts to a court, such as fines or child support
obligations. Individuals charged or convicted for serious
offenses related to participation in December 19 protests
following the presidential election in Belarus face
restrictions on temporary foreign travel. The United States
considers these charges to be politically motivated.
The procedure for administering these exit restrictions was
changed with Presidential Decree No. 643 of December 17, 2007,
which took effect on January 1, 2008. The decree abolished a
system of passport exit stamps that had been used previously to
grant permission for travel abroad. Under the new procedures,
individuals presenting a passport to a border enforcement
official at most border points are checked against a database
of persons ineligible for exit. The Belarusian Committee for
State Security (BKGB) and the Ministries of Justice, Internal
Affairs, and Defense provide names of such persons to the
Citizenship and Migration Office of the Ministry of Internal
Affairs, which maintains the database. We have not received any
reports this procedure is affecting freedom of emigration.
The Belarusian authorities have engaged the Governments of
Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland on agreements to allow visa-free,
temporary cross-border travel for their citizens residing
within 50 kilometers of the border. Discussions between the
Governments of Belarus, Latvia, and Poland are complete, and
the agreements have been signed and ratified, although Belarus
has yet to implement them. By contrast, the Lithuanian
Parliament has not ratified the country's agreement with
Belarus. We believe these agreements will substantially improve
opportunities for Belarusian citizens who reside along the
border with these countries to travel abroad temporarily.
Extending the waiver will substantially promote the
objectives of Section 402 of this Act, by permitting normal
trade, contingent on any other U.S. government restrictions. We
will continue to raise our concerns with the Government of
Belarus about any emigration-related policies that may arise,
noting that efforts to restrict emigration may result in
revocation of the waiver and normal trade relations.