P.M. BRIEFING : Presidential Order Lifts Trade Restrictions on East Germany
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WASHINGTON — President Bush today lifted a set of trade restrictions on East Germany to give American businesses a jump on gaining a commercial foothold in its coming unification with West Germany.
Bush signed an executive order that exempts East Germany from the Jackson-Vanik Amendment to the Trade Act of 1974, which until the democratic revolutions of 1989 denied many East European countries trade privileges with the United States.
The amendment was aimed at the Soviet Union and other Communist countries that restricted emigration to the West. In the last several years, liberalized emigration policies and the emergence of non-Communist governments in Eastern Europe have led to a reevaluation of its application.
The action taken by Bush makes East Germany eligible for trade-promoting loan guarantees and credits from the Export-Import Bank.
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