U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

29–011 2013

113th Congress, 1st Session – – – – – – – – – – – – – House Document 113–50 

REPORT TO THE CONGRESS CONCERNING THE EXTENSION OF WAIVER AUTHORITY FOR 

TURKMENISTAN 

COMMUNICATION 

FROM

THE ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY, LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS, THE DEPARTMENT OF 

STATE 

TRANSMITTING

A REPORT CONCERNING THE EXTENSION OF WAIVER AUTHORITY 

FOR TURKMENISTAN, PURSUANT TO PUB. L. 93–618, SEC. 

402(d)(1) AND 409 

JULY 26, 2013.—Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and 

ordered to be printed 


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE, 

Washington, DC, May 29, 2013. 

Hon. JOHN A. BOEHNER, 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

DEAR MR. SPEAKER: Pursuant to Subsection 402(d)(1) and 409 of 

the Trade Act of 1974 (Jackson-Vanik Amendment), P.L. 93–618, 

the President’s Delegation of Authority E.O. 13346 (July 8, 2004), 

and Delegation of Authority No. 245–1 (February 13, 2009), the 

Deputy Secretary of State has exercised the waiver authority provided by the Act on behalf of the Secretary of State and has issued 

the required determination. 

A copy of the Deputy Secretary’s Determination and the accompanying Report to Congress concerning the extension of waiver authority for Turkmenistan are enclosed. 

We hope you find this information useful. Please do not hesitate 

to contact us if we may be of assistance on this or any other issue. 

Sincerely, 

THOMAS B. GIBBONS, 

Acting Assistant Secretary, 

Legislative Affairs. 

Enclosures: As stated. 


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REPORT TO THE CONGRESS CONCERNING THE EXTENSION OF WAIVER

AUTHORITY FOR TURKMENISTAN

This report is submitted pursuant to subsection 402(d)(1) of the 

Trade Act of 1974, as amended (‘‘the Act’’), also known as the Jackson-Vanik amendment. 

FREEDOM OF EMIGRATION DETERMINATION

Turkmenistan was found compliant with the Act every year until 

2003 when, in response to an armed attack on former President 

Niyazov’s motorcade in November 2002, the government tightened 

control over movement outside of the country by imposing an exit 

visa requirement, including restrictions on emigration. The government officially removed the exit visa regime in January 2004, restoring some freedom of movement, including freedom of emigration. 

The Government of Turkmenistan’s 2005 Law on Migration has 

been used to limit the ability of Turkmen to leave the country. The 

law contains several restrictions on travel abroad. According to Article 32 of the law, those with access to state secrets, those considered a risk of becoming victims of trafficking, and those whose departure threatens Turkmenistan’s national security can be prevented from traveling. 

Although the government denies maintaining a list of persons 

not permitted to leave the country, it continues to bar select individuals from departing. All citizens and visitors to Turkmenistan 

are required to undergo a check by the State Migration Service 

prior to departing the country. Some family members of officials 

imprisoned in 2002 who wanted to emigrate to join relatives abroad 

have not been allowed to do so. People subject to a suspected travel 

ban who have tried to leave the country have been turned away at 

the airport, visited by security services and told not to try to leave, 

or had their passports confiscated. In general, government policy 

requires personnel offices of government agencies to hold the passports of all government employees. Government employees must 

first obtain permission to travel abroad to retrieve their passports. 

Emigration is possible for most Turkmen citizens. The top destination countries for emigration from Turkmenistan are the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Israel, Latvia, Turkey, Germany, Armenia, the United States, Kazakhstan, and Iran. Official statistics, 

however, are difficult to obtain. An international organization that 

follows migration issues reports that at least 234 Turkmen citizens 

who acquired refugee status in other countries were able to leave 

the country between 2004 and 2009. An additional 17 citizens left 

between January and April 2010. An unofficial source reported the 

Government of Turkmenistan permitted the migration of 34 Jewish 

citizens of Turkmenistan from the country in 2008, and allowed 53 

Jewish citizens to emigrate to Israel in 2009. 


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However, there continue to be numerous accounts of individuals 

barred from leaving the country. In the fall of 2009, students who 

planned to study at the American University in Central Asia were 

not allowed to depart to Bishkek, and in addition were temporarily 

banned from foreign travel. In April 2011, a group of health professionals who were supposed to take part in a U.S. government-sponsored exchange program in the United States were stopped at the 

airport by State Migration Service officials and denied exit. Those 

seven people were then placed on a list of persons banned from 

leaving the country. Authorities denied exit to eight recipients of 

scholarships to the Smolny Institute in Russia in August 2012. No 

explanation was provided in these cases. 

For Turkmen citizens possessing a second citizenship, exit from 

Turkmenistan can be problematic. The Turkmen Constitution does 

not permit dual citizenship, and there have been occasions when 

State Migration Service officials refused to allow dual citizens to 

exit the country, despite possession of a valid travel document 

showing the person’s other citizenship. The State Migration Service 

has not provided clear instructions on how dual citizens can leave 

the country, nor a clear procedure for a person to renounce 

Turkmen citizenship. 

The Jackson-Vanik waiver has been a tool for the United States 

to encourage the Government of Turkmenistan to ease its emigration restrictions, in combination with ongoing engagement on specific issues such as dual citizenship or the travel ban against students at the American University in Central Asia. The Government 

of Turkmenistan seeks to avoid criticism from the international 

community on issues such as respect for freedom of movement. 

Turkmenistan’s announcement in early 2013 of its goal of acceding 

to the World Trade Organization provides an additional opportunity to press its government to adopt further reforms to its migration policies. The waiver extension is essential to maintain conditions for bilateral dialogue on freedom of emigration and movement and thus will substantially promote the objectives of Section 

402 of the Act. 


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

OF 1974, AS AMENDED—CONTINUATION OF WAIVER AUTHORITY

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, as 

well as the authority delegated to the Deputy Secretary of State by 

Delegation of Authority 245–1 of February 13, 2009, 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 Turkmenistan will substantially promote the objectives of Section 402 of the Act. 

This Determination shall be published in the Federal Register. 

WILLIAM J. BURNS, 

Deputy Secretary of State. 

Æ 


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