Ways and Means To Hold June 20 Russia Hearing With Senior Officials

摘要

The House Ways and Means Committee has targeted June 20 for the date of its long-awaited hearing on extending permanent most favored nation (MFN) status to Russia as it enters the World Trade Organization mid-year, according to informed sources. The committee has obtained a commitment from the administration that two senior officials will testify at the hearing, and one of them is likely to be U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, these sources said. One source speculated that the second witness would be Commerce Secretary John Bryson, but another source hinted it may be a senior official from an agency not primarily focused on trade. Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) has been critical of the administration for not making the case for Russia MFN on foreign policy grounds and instead focusing solely on the commercial benefits.