U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

69–011 2008

110th Congress, 2d Session – – – – – – – – – – – – House Document 110–120 

CONTINUATION OF A WAIVER AUTHORITY WITH 

RESPECT TO THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS 

COMMUNICATION 

FROM

THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS, THE DEPARTMENT OF 

STATE 

TRANSMITTING

NOTIFICATION OF THE DETERMINATION THAT A WAIVER OF THE 

APPLICATION OF SUBSECTIONS (a) AND (b) OF SECTION 402 OF 

THE TRADE ACT OF 1974 WITH RESPECT TO THE REPUBLIC OF 

BELARUS WILL SUBSTANTIALLY PROMOTE THE OBJECTIVES OF 

SECTION 402, PURSUANT TO 19 U.S.C. 2432(c) AND (d) 

JUNE 4, 2008.—Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and 

ordered to be printed 


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE, 

Washington, DC, June 3, 2008. 

Hon. NANCY PELOSI, 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

DEAR MADAM SPEAKER: On behalf of the Secretary, we are transmitting to you the Presidential determination and Report to the 

Congress, referred to in subsection 402(d)(1) of the Trade Act of 

1974 (the ‘‘Act’’), as amended, with respect to the continuation of 

a waiver of application of subsections (a) and (b) of section 402 of 

the Act to Belarus. 

This document constitutes the Secretary’s recommendation to 

continue this waiver for a further twelve-month period and includes her determination that continuation of the waiver currently 

in effect for Belarus will substantially promote the objectives of section 402 of the Act, and the reasons for such determination. 

We hope that this information will be helpful to you and other 

Members of Congress. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can 

be of further assistance. 

Sincerely, 

JEFFREY T. BERGNER, 

Assistant Secretary, 

Legislative Affairs. 

Enclosures: As stated. 

DETERMINATION UNDER SUBSECTION 402(d)(1) OF THE TRADE ACT

OF 1974, AS AMENDED CONTINUATION OF WAIVER AUTHORITY FOR

BELARUS

JUNE 2, 2008. 

Pursuant to the authority vested in the President under the 

Trade Act of 1974, as amended, Public Law 93–618, 88 Stat. 1978 

(hereinafter ‘‘the Act’’), and assigned to the Secretary of State by 

virtue of Section 1(a) of Executive Order 13346 of July 8, 2004, I 

determine, pursuant to Section 402(d)(1) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. 

2432(d)(1), that the further extension of the waiver authority 

granted by Section 402 of the Act will substantially promote the objectives of Section 402 of the Act. I further determine that continuation of the waiver applicable to Belarus will substantially promote 

the objectives of Section 402 of the Act. 

This determination shall be published in the Federal Register. 

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, Secretary of State. 


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REPORT TO THE CONGRESS CONCERNING THE EXTENSION OF WAIVER

AUTHORITY FOR BELARUS

Pursuant to subsection 402(d)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974, as 

amended (‘‘the Act’’), and the authority assigned to me by the 

President in Executive Order 13346 Concerning Delegation of Certain Waiver, Determination, Certification, and Reporting Functions, dated July 8, 2004, I hereby recommend a further extension 

for twelve months of the waiver authority granted by subsection 

402(c) of the Act. I have determined that such extension will substantially promote the objectives of section 402 of the Act, and that 

a continuation of the waiver currently applicable to Belarus will 

also substantially promote the objectives of section 402 of the Act. 

Exercise of the waiver authority conferred by Section 402 of the Act 

has permitted the United States to conclude and maintain in force 

a bilateral trade relations agreement with Belarus. (Exercise of the 

waiver authority with respect to Belarus would also allow the U.S. 

government to engage in credit and investment activities in 

Belarus, but those programs have been suspended in Belarus due 

to strong concerns over the Belarusian authorities’ repressive economic and human rights policies.) 

Freedom of emigration situation 

The Belarusian Constitution of November 1996, although adopted illegitimately, specifically grants citizens the right to leave and 

return as they wish. Soviet-era restrictions on emigration in 

Belarus have largely, but not entirely, been dismantled, and existing restrictions are applied in a manner that generally allows free 

emigration. None of the human rights or Jewish organizations in 

Belarus report discriminatory restrictions limiting the ability of 

citizens to emigrate on the basis of ethnic identity. However, Soviet-era legislation restricting emigration by those with access to 

‘‘state secrets’’ does remain in force in Belarus. There are also exit 

restrictions on those who are involved in criminal investigations, 

convicted of crimes, attempting to evade military service, or have 

outstanding debts to a court, such as a fine or child support obligations. These exit restrictions on Belarusian citizens apply equally 

whether they are exiting for the purpose of temporary travel or for 

emigration. 

The procedure for administering these exit restrictions has recently been changed. Presidential Decree No. 643 of 17 December 

2007, which took effect on January 1, 2008, abolished a system of 

passport exit stamps that had been previously used to grant permission for travel abroad. Under the new procedures, individuals 

presenting a passport at most border points to a border enforcement official are checked against a database of persons ineligible 

for exit. The Belarusian Committee for State Security (BKGB) and 

the Ministries of Justice, Internal Affairs, and Defense provide 


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names to the Citizenship and Migration Office of the Ministry of 

Internal Affairs, which maintains the database. 

Since the Decree has only recently come into force, we do not 

have a clear picture of the extent to which the new procedure may 

be affecting freedom of emigration. We have serious concerns, however, that the new procedures are less transparent and more subject to manipulation than the old system. In fact, the new procedures appear to have had a negative impact on the freedom to travel abroad. At least 18 opposition politicians and civil society activists who had previously been able to exit Belarus for temporary 

travel reported that they were denied permission to exit when they 

appeared at a border crossing after the new decree came into force 

on January 1, 2008. In some cases, the persons denied exit were 

not given any legal basis for denial of their right to exit. In one 

case an opposition political leader was told the reason for denial of 

exit was an open investigation into statements critical of the regime that he had made in 2004. (This opposition leader met with 

President Bush in the Oval Office in December 2007.) 

Although freedom to travel abroad for non-emigrant purposes is 

not the specific focus of section 402 of the Act, the government has 

continued to impose restrictions on this freedom. Other existing restrictions that impede the ability of Belarusians to exit the country 

remained in place during 2007 and 2008. These included a presidential decree signed in March 2005 on measures to combat trafficking in persons, which required, among other provisions, that 

any organization responsible for facilitating student exchanges 

must first receive approval for its program from the Ministry of 

Education. Non-governmental organizations have expressed concern that the Belarusian authorities may be using this law to prevent Belarusians from traveling abroad for legitimate purposes. A 

presidential decree from November 2005, which required students 

to get permission from the Ministry before even brief study, work, 

sports, cultural, or other events abroad during the school year, also 

remained in effect. 

Extension of the waiver 

We have repeatedly expressed our concerns to Belarus about the 

manner in which restrictions on exit from Belarus are applied, either for the purpose of emigration or for temporary travel. Insofar 

as we retain the ability to engage with the Government of Belarus 

on these issues, extending the current waiver will allow us to continue to promote progress by Belarus, while giving us leverage to 

prevent any rollback. We have expressed our deep concerns to the 

Belarusian authorities and condemned their actions in March and 

April 2008 to limit the size of our Embassy in Minsk. A reduced 

diplomatic presence in Minsk will hinder our efforts to engage with 

Belarus on freedom of emigration issues as well as our ability to 

accurately report on potential progress by Belarus in this area. 

Nevertheless, we will continue to raise our concerns with the Government of Belarus about emigration-related practices, noting that 

efforts to restrict emigration may result in revocation of the waiver 

and normal trade relations. 


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