The US Senate voted Thursday to remove Cold War-era restrictions on trade with Russia and establish permanent normal trade relations with Moscow, dpa reported.
Congress's upper chamber voted 92-4 to repeal the so-called Jackson-Vanik amendment, a 1974 measure that had been designed to punish the Soviet Union for its refusal to allow mass emigration of its citizens, particularly by Jews to Israel.
The US government had been granting waivers to Russia under the law for years. Repeal of the antiquated law was necessary to normalize trade relations after Russia joined the World Trade Organization this year.
"The US has to stop applying the conditions of the Jackson-Vanik amendment to Russia in order for our nation to benefit from the lower tariffs available to all other WTO members," US trade representative Ron Kirk and acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank wrote in an opinion piece published Wednesday in the newspaper Politico.
"Only when the WTO agreement applies between the United States and Russia will American businesses be able to compete - on a level playing field according to WTO rules - with businesses from other countries that are already taking advantage of Russia's membership to expand sales and market share there."
Russia had said it would not open its markets to US goods as required under WTO rules until Washington repealed the law. The world's ninth-largest economy, Russia ranks 31st among US export markets.
The measure passed the lower House of Representatives last month by a 365-43 vote.
US President Barack Obama said he would sign the legislation, which he said will "ensure that American businesses and workers are able to take full advantage of the WTO rules and market access commitments that the United States worked so hard to negotiate. We are also one step closer to realizing job-creating export opportunities and leveling the playing field for American workers, farmers, ranchers and service providers."
His government would "continue to work with Congress and our partners to support those seeking a free and democratic future for Russia and promote the rule of law and respect for human rights around the world," Obama said in a statement.
A provision first added to the legislation in the House sanctions Russian officials suspected of involvement in human-rights violations. The provision will sanction Russian officials implicated in cases including the death of Sergei Magnitsky, an anticorruption lawyer. Moscow has criticized the move.
Thomas Donohue, president of the US Chamber of Commerce, applauded the "bipartisan cooperation" that achieved overwhelming passage in Congress of the measure, which he called "a rare bill that will create American jobs without costing the taxpayer a dime."
Kirk and Blank wrote that freer trade with Russia would benefit US exporters of high-value goods including aircraft, machinery and medical devices. Permanent normal trade relations will give US companies stronger intellectual property rights protections and "more transparency on how trade rules are applied in Russia," they said.
Expanded trade with the United States will support "overall political and economic changes that Russians themselves are striving to achieve," Kirk and Blank wrote. The outdated Jackson-Vanik provisions no longer gave Washington any leverage with Moscow over human rights or foreign policies, they said.