US senator supports canceling amendment preventing the US from full-scale trade with Kazakhstan

Chris Murphy, the junior U.S. senator for Connecticut and member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has proposed that the U.S. government remove any barriers for trade with Kazakhstan.

What happened? Senator Chris Murphy is speaking in support of granting Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan the status of permanent normal trade relations (PNTR). He made this proposal in an article he published in The Diplomat. Murphy believes that Russia and China have exerted enormous influence on Central Asian states, while the U.S. has stayed on the sidelines for too long because of the Jackson-Vanik amendment adopted in 1974. This document was designed to restrict trade with countries that prevented Jewish people from fleeing the former Soviet Union.

As the official wrote, the U.S. must take advantage of the situation when Central Asian governments are getting worried about their growing dependence on China and the current situation in Russia and expanded trade with these states.

According to Murphy’s article, since the dissolution of the USSR, U.S. presidents have repeatedly «certified that Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan comply with the emigration provisions in Jackson-Vanik. All three enjoy positive diplomatic relations with Israel, none engage in state-sanctioned antisemitism, and Jewish citizens are free to emigrate. This is why the National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry, which led the efforts to champion the original Jackson-Vanik bill, agrees that Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan should be granted permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status.»

The senator also highlighted that there are several factors that make trade with Central Asian states beneficial. First of all, these countries are rich in natural resources. Secondly, their combined GDP is about $280 billion; thirdly, U.S. companies will gain broader access to local markets to promote trade and investment and create opportunities for growth; fourthly, Central Asian states will be able to diversify their economies, while reducing their economic dependence on Russia and China.

«Congress should seize this moment to advance our strategic and economic interests in the region by passing legislation to grant Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan PNTR status, relieving these countries from the outdated restrictions imposed by Jackson-Vanik,» he underlined in The Diplomat’s article.

The context. In May 2023, several Kazakhstani media reported that U.S Representatives Jimmy Panetta, Robert Aderholt, Dina Titus, Darin LaHood and Ami Bera introduced a bill on permanent normal trade relations with Kazakhstan. If the bill is approved, it will open new opportunities for expanding trade and investment relations between the two countries.

The U.S. has already granted PNTR status to Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, China, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, Romania, Ukraine and Vietnam.