Business Groups Press Congress, Obama on Russia's PNTR

A coalition of more than 500 trade associations and businesses called the Coalition for U.S.-Russia Trade said Congress should "move quickly" in the lame duck session to approve Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) with Russia, they said in a letter to Congress. A similar letter to President Barack Obama urged the President to work with Congress on the issue. Coalition members include the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Foreign Trade Council, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the Information Technology Industry Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation. Since Russia joined the World Trade Organization in August, the coalition said U.S. competitors in Europe, China and elsewhere are happy to "step in and take advantage of meeting Russia's needs not only in infrastructure and modernization of its industrial base, but also the demands of a growing consumer class that is highly educated and appreciates quality." Until Congress passes Russia PNTR, U.S. executives will be relegated to an "observer" status as foreign competitors "snap up contracts that will lock in commercial relationships for years to come," they said.