Washington – Business Roundtable (BRT) today praised the U.S. House of Representatives’ approval of legislation to establish permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with Russia, and urged the Senate to approve the House-passed bill as soon as possible.  

“We commend members of the House for their strong bipartisan vote approving Russia PNTR legislation today and House Ways & Means Committee leaders Dave Camp and Sandy Levin for their bipartisan leadership on the bill this year,” said Doug Oberhelman, Chairman & CEO, Caterpillar Inc., and Chair of BRT’s International Engagement Committee. “Ensuring that American companies and workers can compete in the growing Russian market is essential to increasing U.S. exports, growing our economy and creating more American jobs. Enactment of Russia PNTR will help to do just that, and we urge the Senate to approve the House-passed legislation as soon as possible in the ‘lame-duck’ session.”

Russia has roughly 142 million consumers and is the world’s sixth-largest economy in terms of purchasing power, offering much potential for American businesses. Russia joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in August, and all WTO member countries – except the United States – have been fully benefitting from the market-opening concessions Russia made as part of its WTO membership. Congress must approve Russia PNTR for U.S. manufacturers, service providers, farmers and workers to reap the same benefits and have a fair chance to sell their goods and services in Russia.

Passage of Russia PNTR legislation is Business Roundtable’s top trade priority this year. To learn more, visit www.brt.org/Russia.