[House Document 110-116]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                     

110th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 110-
116
 
REPORT TO THE CONGRESS CONCERNING THE EXTENSION OF WAIVER AUTHORITY FOR 
                              TURKMENISTAN

                               __________

                             COMMUNICATION

                                  from

  THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS, THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE

                              transmitting

A REPORT CONCERNING THE EXTENSION OF WAIVER AUTHORITY FOR TURKMENISTAN, 
        PURSUANT TO PUB. L. 93-618, SUBSECTION 402(d)(1) AND 409




June 3, 2008.--Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and ordered 
                             to be printed
                                       Department of State,
                                       Washington, DC, May 8, 2008.
Hon. Nancy Pelosi,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
    Dear Madam Speaker: Pursuant to subsection 402(d)(1) and 
409 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Jackson-Vanik Amendment), P.L. 
93-618, the President's Delegation of Authority E.O. 13346 
(July 8, 2004), and Delegation of Authority No. 245, the Deputy 
Secretary of State has exercised the waiver authority provided 
by the Act on behalf of the Secretary of State and has issued 
the required determination.
    A copy of the Deputy Secretary's Determination and the 
accompanying Report to Congress concerning the extension of 
waiver authority for Turkmenistan are enclosed.
    We hope you find this information useful. Please do not 
hesitate to contact us if we may be of assistance on this or 
any other issue.
            Sincerely,
                                Jeffrey T. Bergner,
                                       Assistant Secretary,
                                               Legislative Affairs.
    Enclosure: As stated.

 Determination Under Subsection 402(d)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974, as 
               Amended--Continuation of Waiver Authority

                                                       May 6, 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, as well as the authority delegated to the Deputy 
Secretary of State by Delegation of Authority 245 of April 23, 
2001, 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 
Turkmenistan will substantially promote the objectives of 
Section 402 of the Act.
    This determination shall be published in the Federal 
Register.

                                        John D. Negroponte,
                                         Deputy Secretary of State.
Report to the Congress Concerning the Extension of Waiver Authority for 
                              Turkmenistan

    Pursuant to subsection 402(d)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974, 
as amended (``the Act''), and the authority assigned to the 
Secretary of State by the President in Executive Order 13346 
dated July 8, 2004, as well as the authority delegated to me, 
the Deputy Secretary of State, by Delegation of Authority 245 
of April 23, 2001, 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 
Turkmenistan 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 maintain in force a bilateral trade agreement with 
Turkmenistan.
Freedom of emigration determination
    Turkmenistan was found compliant with Jackson-Vanik every 
year until 2003 when, in response to an armed attack on former 
President Niyazov's motorcade in November 2002, the Government 
of Turkmenistan (GOT) tightened control over movement outside 
of the country by imposing an exit-visa requirement, which 
included restrictions on emigration. The GOT officially removed 
the exit-visa regime in January 2004, restoring some freedom of 
movement, including freedom of emigration.
    Although the exit-visa regime was officially lifted, the 
government continued to impede travel out of the country, 
including emigration, for selected individuals, particularly 
former regime opponents and their family members. Those who 
wanted to emigrate to join dissident relatives who were 
convicted in absentia and received asylum abroad were not 
allowed to do so. People in this category who tried to leave 
the country were turned away at the airport, visited by 
security services and told not to try to leave, or had their 
passports confiscated.
    In December 2005, the GOT passed a law on migration that 
was used to limit the ability of Turkmenistanis, especially 
those who had run afoul of Niyazov's regime, to leave the 
country. The law contains several vague articles that the GOT 
has used to prevent people from traveling abroad. According to 
Article 32 of the law, those with access to state secrets, 
those considered a risk of becoming a victim of trafficking, 
and those whose departure threatensTurkmenistan's national 
security can be prevented from traveling. Article 38 stipulates that 
those who head government-run enterprises, educational institutions, 
and ``have access to [undefined] information'' may also be prevented 
from leaving the country. We will continue to urge the GOT to revise 
this law to comply with international standards.
    Following President Niyazov's death in December 2006, 
President Berdimuhamedov and his government expressed 
commitment to righting the abuses of the past and undertook a 
review of cases of those who were still denied, for apparent 
political reasons, permission to leave the country freely. At 
least four citizens who were previously barred from leaving the 
country have been allowed to depart, either after petitioning 
the government to review their cases or when the international 
community, including U.S. Embassy Ashgabat, brought specific 
cases to the GOT's attention. The criteria for permitting 
travel remain unclear, however, and the GOT still occasionally 
bars citizens from departing the country. In at least two cases 
in late 2007, the GOT informed citizens that they would be 
allowed to leave the country and then turned them away at the 
airport. While many of these developments are encouraging, the 
GOT must take further steps to meet the requirements of the 
Jackson-Vanik Amendment, including amending the restrictive 
2005 law to meet international standards.
    The Jackson-Vanik waiver has been and continues to serve as 
an important incentive for the United States to encourage the 
GOT to ease emigration restrictions. The GOT has been 
responsive to some of our suggestions concerning reform, and 
Turkmenistan must continue to show concrete, definitive 
progress on freedom of emigration issues. Over the next 12 
months, we expect our efforts to yield additional results 
towards the GOT's further easing of restrictive emigration 
practices.

                                  
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