Senators Murphy and Young stress that the time is ripe to drop the “outdated” restrictions of Jackson-Vanik and “redefine” the U.S. relationship with Central Asia.

A bipartisan bill has been introduced to the U.S. Congress aimed at ending Cold War-era trade restrictions for Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan and granting those countries permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status.

Senators Chris Murphy and Todd Young put the bill forward on September 7 saying the Jackson-Vanik amendment, approved in 1974, "is an outdated trade policy that is holding back our partnerships with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan."

The senators said the bill will lead to stronger trade ties, expanded international market access, and a greater ability "to counter malign influence from China and Russia."

The Jackson-Vanik amendment to the Trade Act of 1974 rendered certain countries ineligible for normal trade relations with the United States due to restrictions on emigration, specifically that of Soviet Jews seeking to leave the USSR. Although the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Jackson-Vanik lived on.

Over the years, many countries subject to the amendment were granted conditional normal trade relations on an annual basis, after review. A number of countries, including Kyrgyzstan in 1998 and Russia in 2012, were freed from the amendment’s burden of reviews to establish normal trade relations — having sufficiently proven that they did not unnecessarily restrict emigration.

But although some countries moved out from under Jackson-Vanik, most Central Asian countries — Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan — remained subject to its provisions.