MOSCOW, November 8 - RAPSI. More U.S. politicians seek to cancel the Jackson-Vanik amendment and hope that it will be rescinded by January 2013, U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul said in an interview with the Echo of Moscow radio station.

He added that many individuals hope to combine the issue of the amendment and the law on the Magnitsky list.

The Jackson-Vanik amendment was adopted by Congress in 1974 and imposed restrictions on trade with the Soviet Union. The amendment was a response to the Soviet Union's lack of freedom for its citizens to emigrate. Formally, the amendment is still valid. However, the United States has waived the act each year since 1989, and the current administration has promised to repeal it.

The U.S. Congress is considering a repeal of the amendment within the context of a resolution to place visa sanctions on officials involved in human rights violations, now known as the Magnitsky list.

Magnitsky, 37, who was accused of corporate tax evasion while employed with the Hermitage Capital investment fund, died in an investigative isolation ward in November 2009. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, he died from cardiovascular complications.

His death resulted in a public outcry.

On July 18, the Senate merged the two measures into a single bill. The House of Representatives said it was determined to consider the repeal before its summer recess, which began in August, but postponed hearing the issue due to Republican opposition.