During a March 24, 2011 phone call with Russian President Medvedev, President Obama discussed, among other things, the new momentum in Russia’s progress towards joining the World Trade Organization in 2011. President Obama affirmed his support for Russia’s accession into the WTO in 2011 and also affirmed his commitment to work with the Congress to terminate the application of Jackson-Vanik to Russia and establish Permanent Normalized Trade Relations (PNTR) with Russia.
Russia export controls and sanctions
The use of export controls and sanctions on Russia has surged since the country's invasion of Crimea in 2014, and especially its invasion of Ukraine in in February 2022. Similar export controls and sanctions have been imposed by U.S. allies, including the EU, U.K. and Japan. The following is a listing of recent articles in Export Compliance Daily on export controls and sanctions imposed on Russia:
A former Director of Defense Trade Controls, (DDTC) has submitted comments on the State Department's two December 2010 rulemakings to make the U.S. Munitions List positive and tiered and to assign a tier system to Category VII (tanks and military vehicles), as part of the Administration's Export Control Reform initiative.
On March 11, 2011, U.S. Trade Representative Kirk submitted his written responses to additional questions submitted by Members of the House Ways and Means Committee subsequent to the Committee’s February 9, 2011 hearing on the President’s trade agenda.
The International Trade Commission has issued the following notices:
On March 16, 2011, Assistant Attorney General Breuer of the Justice Department's Criminal Division spoke at the 3rd Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States Summit on Anti-corruption, stating that increased enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is a centerpiece of DOJ's anti-corruption efforts that could incentivize Russian officials not to engage in corruption. He stated that FCPA-related offenses could be imposed on (1) any U.S. citizen who bribes a Russian official in order to obtain or retain business; (2) any Russian citizen working for a U.S. company in Russia or for a Russian company that trades on a U.S. exchange; and (3) Russian officials who launder the proceeds of foreign bribes through U.S. financial institutions.
The International Trade Administration frequently issues notices on antidumping and countervailing duty orders, investigations, etc. which Broker Power considers to be "minor” in importance as they concern actions that occur after an order is issued, neither announce nor cause any changes to an order’s duty rates, scope, affected firms, or effective period, etc.
Russian producer-exporter PSC challenged the International Trade Administration’s use of a 43.58% adverse antidumping duty rate in the April 2007 - March 2008 AD review of magnesium metal from Russia. PSC VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation and VSMPO-Tirus, U.S., Inc. (collectively, PSC) had withdrawn from the review, citing the burden of multiple verifications, among other causes.
On March 15, 2011, the Foreign Agriculture Service issued the following GAIN reports:
The House Ways and Means Committee has posted its oversight plan for the 112th Congress (2011-2012)1. According to the Committee, the plan sets forth the oversight hearings and related activities that the Committee and its Trade and other Subcommittees plan to conduct during the 112th Congress.
On March 14, 2011, the Foreign Agriculture Service issued the following GAIN reports: