The Wall Street Journal announced today that President Bush is due to make a key announcement regarding the Visa Waiver program on October 17, 2008. Implementation of Visa Waiver will have a significant and positive impact on US and Baltic trade and travel.

The following is from the Wall Street Journal:

Bush Expected to Add More Countries to Visa Waiver Program
John D. McKinnon reports on the White House.

President George W. Bush will make an announcement Friday about an issue that gets huge attention – in Eastern Europe anyway. It’s visas.

Citizens of former Soviet bloc countries like the Baltic states – who have been among the president’s most loyal allies when it comes to sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan – still have to obtain visas to come to the U.S., a requirement that they regard as somewhat of a diss. Western Europeans by and large don’t have to obtain visas to visit the U.S.

On Friday, Bush will make a statement on the visa waiver, the White House said, hinting that more countries would be added to the list of nations whose citizens don’t need visas to travel to the U.S.

“The administration is close to finalizing decisions on the candidacies of several new countries to join the U.S. visa waiver program,” the White House said. “Tomorrow the president will give brief remarks about the progress made in expanding the VWP.” There are about a dozen countries seeking admission into the U.S. visa waiver program.

The ones that appear to be closest to gaining access include Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Slovakia and Hungary, as well as South Korea.