Good news.... The US is well on the path to normalizing trade relations with Ukraine. We just need the US President's signature and there it is.


This repeal of the cold war Jackson-Vanik Amendment is needed to support the Orange Revolution. There are many Ukrainians asking what changed with the Orange Revolution. They aren't seeing a difference in their day-to-day life.


And this action (removing Jackson-Vanik Amendment) really needed to happen before Ukraine's March 26 elections. It is boiling down to contest between a pro-Russian vs a pro-western party. Well... actually no one is expecting the pro-Russian party to win the Presidency. And there are 2 parties in the election that were started by leaders in the Orange Revolution, so there are some complications.


Daniel Fried (assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs) had the following to say about the Ukraine and the upcoming election.

"[T]he United States sees upcoming elections in Ukraine as free and fair, as the nation experiences problems typical of a "post-community messy democratic transition"..............


"We had a great deal invested in the Orange Revolution," Fried said, "not because it represented particular parties but because it represented democracy. It was the Ukrainian identity crystallizing itself in a democratic form."


From: U.S. Decries Oppression in Belarus, Declares Support for Ukraine

A pro-Russian opposition party tops opinion polls two weeks before a parliamentary poll in Ukraine but it may not win enough seats to govern alone, opinion polls showed on Friday.


The March 26 vote will be the first public test for pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko's administration, which rose to power in the "Orange Revolution" protests in 2004.


Ukraine has since seen higher inflation, economic slowdown, corruption scandals and frequent rows within the government over major policy issues. Poll results might prove disappointing for the ruling team, surveys showed.


From: Pro-Russian party tops polls for Ukraine election

With the cold war Jackson-Vanik Amendment removed, Ukraine can start working on membership in the WTO, NATO and the European Union.


Here is one article on it.


Yuschenko welcomes repeal of Jackson-Vanik amendment


This article mentions that Ukraine expects foreign trade to double. And they will be joining the WTO by the end of 2006.