Russ Feingold: “Mr. President in 1974 Congress passed the Jackson-Vanik amendment to the 1974 Omnibus Trade Act establishing a linkage…”

“Mr. President in 1974 Congress passed the Jackson-Vanik amendment to the 1974 Omnibus Trade Act establishing a linkage between human rights and most-favored-nation [MFN] trade status for nonmarket economies. The legislation was largely responsible, in my view, for the fantastic success of United States efforts to secure the freedom of movement for over 1 million Jews and other persecuted minorities from the Soviet Union. Since 1989, when the Chinese military brutally gunned down hundreds of protectors in Tianmen Square and cracked down on the blossoming dissident movement in China, there have been efforts to link Chinese MFN to human rights improvements. In 1991, legislation to set conditions for the extension of MFN to China was passed by overwhelming majorities in both the House and the Senate, only to be vetoed by President Bush. The House overrode the veto, but the Senate sustained it by a mere one vote. In 1992 Congress again passed bills to revoke MFN status for products manufactured by Chinese state-owned companies. President Bush vetoed that as well, and once again the Senate sustained the veto. When President Clinton came to office in 1993, he issued an Executive order specifying seven areas in which the Chinese would need to make ``significant progress'' if MFN were to be extended in 1994.”