Armenian National Committee of America
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PRESS RELEASE
March 8, 2006
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
PRESIDENT BUSH’S TRADE POLICY REPORT CITES
PROGRESS ON U.S.-ARMENIA ECONOMIC COOPERATION
WASHINGTON, DC – President Bush’s annual Trade Policy Report cites
progress across a broad range of areas of U.S.-Armenia economic
cooperation, reported the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA).
“We are gratified to see that the steady progress in U.S.-Armenia
economic relations is reflected in the President’s annual trade
report to Congress,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the
ANCA. “We look forward, in the weeks and months ahead, to building
on this momentum by encouraging the negotiation of both a treaty
eliminating double taxation and an agreement clarifying the Social
Security obligations and entitlements of those dividing either
their careers or their retirements between the U.S. and Armenia.”
The President’s annual trade report is submitted to Congress by the
United States Trade Representative (USTR). It details the benefits
of foreign trade for U.S. businesses, farmers and ranchers, service
providers and consumers, reviews the Administration’s
accomplishments of 2005 and lays out its agenda for 2006.
Additional information on this report can be found at:
The provisions of the report that deal specifically with Armenia
are as follows:
2) Normalization of U.S.-Armenia Trade Relations
“In 2004, Congress passed the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical
Corrections Act of 2004 which authorized the President to terminate
application of Jackson-Vanik to Armenia. On January 7, 2005, the
President signed a proclamation terminating application of Jackson-
Vanik to Armenia and granting Permanent Normal Trade Relations
(PNTR) tariff treatment to products of Armenia. Based on the
President’s proclamation granting products from Armenia PNTR
treatment, the United States and Armenia can apply the WTO between
them and have recourse to WTO dispute settlement procedures.”
2) Expansion of U.S.-Armenia Trade and Investment
“The United States continues to actively support political and
economic reforms in Central Asia and the Caucasus, which includes
the former Soviet countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
The United States has been striving to construct a framework for
the development of strong trade and investment links with this
region. This approach has been pursued both bilaterally and
multilaterally. . . The United States currently has Bilateral
Investment Treaties (BIT) in force with Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, and has signed a BIT with
Uzbekistan, which has not yet entered into force.”
3) Cooperation on Intellectual Property Rights
“In 2003, due to improvements made to Armenia’s Intellectual
Property Rights (IPR) regime, the U.S. Government closed the review
of the IPR industry’s petition with respect to Armenia.”
4) Promotion of Economic Growth Through Duty-Free Exports
“Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan
participate in the GSP program. In 2004, Azerbaijan submitted an
application for designation as a beneficiary developing country
under the GSP program which is under consideration.” (The GSP is a
program to promote economic growth in the developing world by
providing preferential duty-free entry for more than 4,650 products
from 144 designated beneficiary countries and territories.)
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