[CTC] Statement on Proposed Suspension of Normal Trade Relations with Russia

[Arthur Stamoulis]

For Immediate Release
Contact: Arthur Stamoulis, (202) 494-8826 or media at citizenstrade.org <mailto:media at citizenstrade.org>

Statement on Proposed Suspension of Normal Trade Relations with Russia

Washington, D.C. — Citizens Trade Campaign’s Executive Director Arthur Stamoulis issued the following statement in support of the bipartisan proposal to suspend normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus, announced by House Ways and Means Committee Republican Leader Kevin Brady (R-TX), House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA), Senate Finance Committee Republican Leader Mike Crapo (R-ID), and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR).

"Citizens Trade Campaign voices our solidarity with the people of Ukraine, and our support for the suspension of Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) for Russia and Belarus.
"Unfettered access to U.S. markets is not a right, and must always be predicated on respect for human rights. The Putin regime’s unwarranted aggression in Ukraine demonstrates the long-term importance of selecting trading partners that embrace democratic values and of creating supply chains that are not overly reliant on any one producer nation. 

"As supportive as we are of this proposal, it should not take a military invasion to spark the prioritization of human rights in trade policy.  President Joe Biden and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s insistence on worker-centered trade policies that uplift the rights of working people across borders and that protect consumers and the environment is reflective of a much-needed shift in the U.S. trade agenda that could help contribute to a more stable, peaceful and equitable world in which authoritarians like Putin have no place."  

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Citizens Trade Campaign is a coalition of labor, environmental, family farm, faith and consumer organizations that work work together to improve U.S. trade policy.

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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