For years now Ecaterina and Serban Chelariu, my wife's mother and brother, have tried to leave Rumania, and we have tried various means to help them. When we moved from Switzerland to America, my homeland, we thought the free emigration provision of the 1974 Trade Act might be a source of leverage to influence Rumanian authorities. In line with the Trade Act the U.S.-Rumanian Trade Agreement of 1975 committed Rumania to freer emigration practices and to the principle of family reunification. It committed the United States Congress either to assure compliance with the emigration provision or to cancel Rumania's "Most Favored Nation" trade status.