[House Document 110-120]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
110th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 110-
120
CONTINUATION OF A WAIVER AUTHORITY WITH
RESPECT TO THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS
__________
COMMUNICATION
from
THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS, THE DEPARTMENT OF
STATE
transmitting
NOTIFICATION OF THE DETERMINATION THAT A WAIVER OF THE APPLICATION OF
SUBSECTIONS (a) AND (b) OF SECTION 402 OF THE TRADE ACT OF 1974 WITH
RESPECT TO THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS WILL SUBSTANTIALLY PROMOTE THE
OBJECTIVES OF SECTION 402, PURSUANT TO 19 U.S.C. 2432(c) AND (d)
June 4, 2008.--Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and ordered
to be printed
Department of State,
Washington, DC, June 3, 2008.
Hon. Nancy Pelosi,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Dear Madam Speaker: On behalf of the Secretary, 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 to Belarus.
This document constitutes the Secretary's recommendation to
continue this waiver for a further twelve-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 that 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,
Jeffrey T. Bergner,
Assistant Secretary,
Legislative Affairs.
Enclosures: As stated.
Determination Under Subsection 402(d)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974, as
Amended Continuation of Waiver Authority for Belarus
June 2, 2008.
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.
Condoleezza Rice,
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 twelve months of the waiver authority granted by
subsection 402(c) of the Act. I have determined that such
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 relations 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 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
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, but not entirely, been
dismantled, and existing restrictions are applied in a manner
that generally allows free emigration. None of the human rights
or Jewish organizations in Belarus report discriminatory
restrictions limiting the ability of citizens to emigrate on
the basis of ethnic identity. However, 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
a fine or child support obligations. These exit restrictions on
Belarusian citizens apply equally whether they are exiting for
the purpose of temporary travel or for emigration.
The procedure for administering these exit restrictions has
recently been changed. Presidential Decree No. 643 of 17
December 2007, which took effect on January 1, 2008, abolished
a system of passport exit stamps that had been previously used
to grant permission for travel abroad. Under the new
procedures, individuals presenting a passport at most border
points to a border enforcement official 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 to the
Citizenship and Migration Office of the Ministry of Internal
Affairs, which maintains the database.
Since the Decree has only recently come into force, we do
not have a clear picture of the extent to which the new
procedure may be affecting freedom of emigration. We have
serious concerns, however, that the new procedures are less
transparent and more subject to manipulation than the old
system. In fact, the new procedures appear to have had a
negative impact on the freedom to travel abroad. At least 18
opposition politicians and civil society activists who had
previously been able to exit Belarus for temporary travel
reported that they were denied permission to exit when they
appeared at a border crossing after the new decree came into
force on January 1, 2008. In some cases, the persons denied
exit were not given any legal basis for denial of their right
to exit. In one case an opposition political leader was told
the reason for denial of exit was an open investigation into
statements critical of the regime that he had made in 2004.
(This opposition leader met with President Bush in the Oval
Office in December 2007.)
Although freedom to travel abroad for non-emigrant purposes
is not the specific focus of section 402 of the Act, the
government has continued to impose restrictions on this
freedom. Other existing restrictions that impede the ability of
Belarusians to exit the country remained in place during 2007
and 2008. These included a presidential decree signed in March
2005 on measures to combat trafficking in persons, which
required, among other provisions, that any organization
responsible for facilitating student exchanges must first
receive approval for its program from the Ministry of
Education. Non-governmental organizations have expressed
concern that the Belarusian authorities may be using this law
to prevent Belarusians from traveling abroad for legitimate
purposes. A presidential decree from November 2005, which
required students to get permission from the Ministry before
even brief study, work, sports, cultural, or other events
abroad during the school year, also remained in effect.
Extension of the waiver
We have repeatedly expressed our concerns to Belarus about
the manner in which restrictions on exit from Belarus are
applied, either for the purpose of emigration or for temporary
travel. Insofar as we retain the ability to engage with the
Government of Belarus on these issues, extending the current
waiver will allow us to continue to promote progress by
Belarus, while giving us leverage to prevent any rollback. We
have expressed our deep concerns to the Belarusian authorities
and condemned their actions in March and April 2008 to limit
the size of our Embassy in Minsk. A reduced diplomatic presence
in Minsk will hinder our efforts to engage with Belarus on
freedom of emigration issues as well as our ability to
accurately report on potential progress by Belarus in this
area. Nevertheless, we will continue to raise our concerns with
the Government of Belarus about emigration-related practices,
noting that efforts to restrict emigration may result in
revocation of the waiver and normal trade relations.