May 31, 1984
To the Congress of the United States:
I hereby transmit the documents referred to in subsection 402(d)(5) of the Trade Act of 1974 with respect to a further 12-month extension of the authority to waive subsection (a) and (b) of section 402 of the Act. These documents constitute my decision to continue in effect this waiver authority for a further 12-month period.
I include as part of these documents my determination that further extension of the waiver authority will substantially promote the objectives of section 402. I also include my determination that continuation of the waivers applicable to the Hungarian People's Republic, the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Romania will substantially promote the objectives of section 402. The attached documents also include my reasons for extension of the waiver authority; and for my determination that continuation of the waivers currently in effect for the Hungarian People's Republic, the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Romania will substantially promote the objectives of section 402.
Ronald Reagan
The White House,
May 31, 1984.
Report to Congress Concerning Extension of Waiver Authority Pursuant to subsection 402(d)(5) of the Trade Act of 1974 (``The Act'') I have today determined that further extension of the waiver authority granted by subsection 402(c) of the Act for twelve months will substantially promote the objectives of section 402, and that continuation of the waivers currently applicable to the Hungarian People's Republic, the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Romania will also substantially promote the objectives of section 402 of the Act. My determination is attached and is incorporated herein.
The general waiver authority conferred by section 402(c) of the Act is an important means for the strengthening of mutually beneficial relations between the United States and certain countries of Eastern Europe and the People's Republic of China. The waiver authority has permitted us to conclude and maintain in force bilateral trade agreements with Hungary, the People's Republic of China, and Romania. These agreements continue to be fundamental elements in our political and economic relations with those countries, including our important, productive exchanges on human rights and emigration matters. Moreover, continuation of the waiver authority might permit future expansion of our bilateral relations with other countries now subject to subsections 402 (a) and (b) of the Act, should circumstances permit. I believe that these considerations clearly warrant this renewal of the general waiver authority.
I also believe that continuing the current waivers applicable to Hungary, the People's Republic of China and Romania will substantially promote the objectives of section 402 of the Act.
Hungary. -- Hungary continues to take a positive and constructive approach to emigration matters. The Hungarian record of the past year, during which all outstanding problem cases were resolved, was excellent. The number of Hungarian citizens who apply to leave Hungary remains small, and emigration permission is granted apparently without undue difficulty. There are no sanctions imposed on those who seek to emigrate, nor do emigration procedures appear excessive.
People's Republic of China. -- China continued its open emigrations policy throughout the past year. Chinese who wish to emigrate do so with little difficulty. In FY - 1983, nearly 10,000 immigrant visas were issued by our Foreign Service posts in China. This figure has increased every year since the normalization of relations with China in 1979. In addition, tens of thousands of Chinese have traveled freely abroad over the past few years to study, conduct business, or simply tour and visit family. The limiting factor on Chinese emigration remains less official constraint than the limited ability or willingness of this and other countries to receive large numbers of potential Chinese immigrants.
Romania. -- Emigration from Romania to all countries has more than doubled and emigration to the United States has increased almost ninefold since 1974, the last year before MFN was granted to Romania. In 1983, about 3,500 people came to the United States from Romania, and departures of ethnic Germans to the Federal Republic of Germany reached an all-time high of nearly 14,000, while Jewish emigration to Israel declined slightly from the relatively high level of 1982. I will continue to monitor closely Romania's performance in improving its emigration procedures and in the area of Jewish emigration to Israel.
Between February and June, 1983, Romania required that all emigrants repay the state in convertible currency the cost of any education they had received beyond the compulsory ten years of schooling. However, in early June 1983 I received assurances from President Ceausescu that Romania would no longer require reimbursement of education costs as a precondition to emigration and would not create economic or procedural barriers to emigration. Since then, we are not aware of any emigrant who has had to pay for his education. Moreover, while there still are many problems in the emigration area, Romania's overall performance has significantly improved over the past year, particularly in the numbers of people receiving exit documentation and the shorter time taken to process their passport applications. On the basis of Romania's performance and the progress it has made in the area of emigration since last year, I believe that continuation of the waiver applicable to Romania will substantially promote the objectives of the Act.
For the above reasons, I have determined that continuation of the waivers for Hungary, the People's Republic of China and Romania will substantially promote the objectives of the Act.