President Reagan will decide this spring whether to recommend the Most Favored Nation (MFN) trade status for Rumania “not on Rumanian pledges but Rumanian performances on human rights issues” such as emigration, State Department spokesman John Hughes said.
He noted that when Congress was considering extension of MFN for Rumania last summer the Rumanian government promised to improve its emigration procedures and said it would discuss the issue with U.S. officials. Elliot Abrams, Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, held discussions on emigration procedures in Bucharest October 6-7.
Hughes said the talks “made real progress but reached no final accord, and MFN for Rumania for next year is not assured.” He said the two governments will continue discussions “and we will watch carefully to see if the delays and harassment applicants for migration have faced are now being eliminated.”
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