Moldova could be removed from scope of Jackson-Vanik amendment by year's end, US congressman

Moldova has chances of being removed from the coverage of the Jackson-Vanik amendment by the end of this year, according to Gregory Meeks, member of the House of Representatives of the US Congress. The statement was made during the meeting he had with Moldovan First Deputy Speaker Vlad Plahotniuc, Info-Prim Neo learned from a press release of the Parliament’s communication and PR division. According to the press release, during his meeting the US congressmen, Vlad Plahotniuc will lobby for Moldova to be recognized as a country with functional market economy and for its removal from the scope of the Jackson-Vanik amendment. Currently, it enforces trade restrictions for Moldova, for Russia and other former socialist countries. The first firm confirmation for restoring trade relations between Moldova and the USA was given to Vlad Plahotniuc by David Price, Democrat Congressman and member of the House of Representatives. “I’m sure that we’ll remove Moldova from the scope of the Jackson-Vanik amendment very soon. This is very important for us as Moldova’s partners”, declared David Price during his meeting with the Moldovan First Deputy Speaker. The statement of support for Moldova’s economy is the more important considering that it was made by the US Congressman who is also co-chairman of the Moldova-USA friendship group, founded in June, on the occasion of Speaker Marian Lupu’s visit in the US. “It’s significant that the Democrats and the Republicans in the US Congress convened to clarify the trade relations with Moldova. Democrats and Republicans rarely agree on any issue. In this case, Moldova’s situation has chances to be solved by the end of the year”, declared Gregory Meeks, US Representative for New York. The talks between Vlad Plahotniuc and the two American congressmen also concerned the intensification of parliamentary dialogue between the two countries. “In time, through our efforts and with the USA support, we hope that more members of the House of Representatives will join the friendship group created with Moldova. I think that bilateral parliamentary dialogue has an important role because it is our duty, as parliamentarians, to represent citizens even in foreign relations”, declared Vlad Plahotniuc. The First Deputy Speaker received encouragement from the US Congress representatives for the measures that target the strengthening of democracy in Moldova, such as switching to the uninominal voting system and revising the Constitution, as well as the peaceful settlement of the Transnistrian conflict.