DUSHANBE, June 18, 2015, Asia-Plus – Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Aslov yesterday met in Washington with Mr. Dana Tyrone Rohrabacher, who chairs the United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats.

The Tajik MFA information department reports that Aslov and Rohrabacher discussed a number of topical issues related to bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and the United States, including cancellation of the Jackson–Vanik amendment for Tajikistan.

The two also exchanged views on a number of regional and international issues being of mutual interest, the source said.

Dana Tyrone Rohrabacher is the U.S. Representative for California''s 48th congressional district, and previously the 46th, 45th and 42nd, serving since 1989.  He is a member of the Republican Party.

The Jackson–Vanik amendment is a 1974 provision in United States federal law, intended to affect U.S. trade relations with countries with non-market economies (originally, countries of the Communist bloc) that restrict freedom of emigration and other human rights.

The amendment, named after its major co-sponsors Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson of Washington in the Senate and Charles Vanik of Ohio in the House of Representatives, both Democrats, is contained in Title IV of the 1974 Trade Act. The amendment passed both houses of the United States Congress unanimously.  President Gerald Ford signed the bill into law with the adopted amendment on January 3, 1975.

Over the time, a number of countries were granted conditional normal trade relations subject to annual review, and a number of countries were liberated from the amendment.

In 2011, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden urged a repeal of the law.