[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 17036-17037]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 REMOVAL OF INJUNCTION OF SECRECY--TREATY DOCUMENT NO. 106-40, TREATY 
 DOCUMENT NO. 106-41, TREATY DOCUMENT NO. 106-42, TREATY DOCUMENT NO. 
                   106-43, TREATY DOCUMENT NO. 106-44

  Mr. DOMENICI. As in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that 
the Injunction of Secrecy be removed from the following treaties and 
protocols transmitted to the Senate on September 5, 2000, by the 
President of the United States:
  Treaty with Costa Rica on Return of Vehicles and Aircraft (Treaty 
Document No. 106-40); Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement (Treaty 
Document 106-41); Investment Treaty with Lithuania (Treaty Document No. 
106-42); Protocol Amending the 1950 Consular Convention with Ireland 
(Treaty Document No. 106-43); Treaty with Panama on the Return of 
Vehicles and Aircraft (Treaty Document No. 106-44).
  I further ask consent that the treaties and protocols be considered 
as having been read the first time; that they be referred, with 
accompanying papers, to the Committee on Foreign Relations and ordered 
to be printed; and that the President's messages be printed in the 
Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The messages of the President are as follows:

To the Senate of the United States:
  With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to 
ratification, I transmit herewith the Treaty Between the Government of 
the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of 
Costa Rica for the Return of Stolen, Embezzled, or Appropriated 
Vehicles and Aircraft, with Annexes and a related exchange of notes, 
signed at San Jose on July 2, 1999. I transmit also, for the 
information of the Senate, the report of the Department of State with 
respect to the Treaty.
  The Treaty is one of a series of stolen vehicle treaties being 
negotiated by the United States in order to eliminate the difficulties 
faced by owners of vehicles that have been stolen and transported 
across international borders. Like several in this series, this Treaty 
also covers aircraft. When it enters into force, this Treaty will be an 
effective tool to facilitate the return of U.S. vehicles and aircraft 
that have been stolen, embezzled, or appropriated and taken to Costa 
Rica.
  I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to 
the Treaty, with Annexes and a related exchange of notes, and give its 
advice and consent to ratification.
                                                  William J. Clinton.  
The White House, September 5, 2000.
                                  ____

To the Senate of the United States:
  I transmit herewith, for the advice and consent of the Senate to 
accession, the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the 
International Registration of Marks adopted at Madrid June 27, 1989, 
which entered into force December 1, 1995. Also transmitted for the 
information of the Senate are the report of the Department of State 
with respect to the Protocol and a February 2, 2000, letter from the 
Council of the European Union regarding voting within the Assembly 
established under the Protocol.
  The Protocol will offer several major advantages to U.S. trademark 
owners. First, registration of trademarks internationally will be 
possible without obtaining a local agent and without filing an 
application in each Contracting Party. If the United States accedes to 
the Protocol, the Protocol will provide a trademark registration filing 
system that will permit a U.S. trademark owner to file for registration 
in any number of Contracting Parties by filing a single standardized 
application in English, and with a single payment in dollars, at the 
United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). The PTO will forward 
the application to the International Bureau of the World Intellectual 
Property Organization (respectively, the ``International Bureau'' and 
``WIPO''), which administers the Protocol. Second, under the Protocol, 
renewal of a trademark registration in each Contracting Party may be 
made by filing a single request with a single payment. These two 
advantages should make access to international protection of trademarks 
more readily available to both large and small U.S. businesses.
  Third, the Protocol will facilitate the recording internationally of 
a change of ownership of a mark with a single filing. United States 
businesses experience difficulties effecting valid assignments of their 
marks internationally due to burdensome administrative requirements for 
recordation of an assignment in many countries. These difficulties can 
hinder the normal transfer of business assets. The Protocol will permit 
the holder of an international registration to record the assignment of 
a trademark in all designated Contracting Parties upon the filing of a 
single request with the International Bureau, accompanied by a single 
payment. To carry out the provisions of the Protocol, identical 
implementing legislation, which is supported by my Administration, was 
passed by the House of Representatives and introduced in the Senate.
  Accession to the Protocol is in the best interests of the United 
States. Therefore, I recommend the Senate give early and favorable 
consideration to the Protocol and give its advice and consent to 
accession, subject to the declarations described in the accompanying 
report of the Department of State.
                                                  William J. Clinton.  
The White House, September 5, 2000.
                                  ____

To the Senate of the United States:
  With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to 
ratification, I transmit herewith the Treaty Between the Government of 
the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of 
Lithuania for the Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of 
Investment, with Annex and Protocol, signed at Washington on January 
14, 1998. I transmit also, for the information of the Senate, the 
report of the Department of State with respect to this Treaty.
  The bilateral investment treaty (BIT) with Lithuania was the third 
such treaty signed between the United

[[Page 17037]]

States and a Baltic region country. The Treaty will protect U.S. 
investment and assist Lithuania in its efforts to develop its economy 
by creating conditions more favorable for U.S. private investment and 
thereby strengthening the development of its private sector.
  The Treaty furthers the objectives of U.S. policy toward 
international and domestic investment. A specific tenet of U.S. policy, 
reflected in this Treaty, is that U.S. investment abroad and foreign 
investment in the United States should receive national treatment. 
Under this Treaty, the Parties also agree to customary international 
law standards for expropriation. The Treaty includes detailed 
provisions regarding the computation and payment of prompt, adequate, 
and effective compensation for expropriation; free transfer of funds 
related to investments; freedom of investments from specified 
performance requirements; fair, equitable, and most-favored-nation 
treatment; and the investor's freedom to choose to resolve disputes 
with the host government through international arbitration.
  I recommend that the Senate consider this Treaty as soon as possible, 
and give its advice and consent to ratification of the Treaty at an 
early date.
                                                  William J. Clinton.  
The White House, September 5, 2000.
                                  ____

To the Senate of the United States:
  I transmit herewith, for the Senate's advice and consent to 
ratification, the Protocol Amending the 1950 Consular Convention 
Between the United States of America and Ireland, signed at Washington 
on June 16, 1998. Also transmitted for the information of the Senate is 
the report of the Department of State with respect to the Protocol.
  The Protocol expands the scope of tax exemption under the 1950 
Consular Convention Between the United States of America and Ireland to 
provide for reciprocal exemption from all taxes, including Value Added 
Taxes (VAT) on goods and services for the official use of the mission 
or for the personal use of mission members and families. The amendment 
will provide financial benefit to the United States, both through 
direct savings on embassy purchases of goods and services as well as 
through lowering the cost of living for United States Government 
employees assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Dublin.
  Because the Protocol will achieve long-term tax exemption on the 
purchase of goods and services for our embassy and personnel in 
Ireland, I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable 
consideration to the Protocol and give its advice and consent to 
ratification.
                                                  William J. Clinton.  
The White House, September 5, 2000.
                                  ____

To the Senate of the United States:
  With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to 
ratification, I transmit herewith the Treaty Between the Government of 
the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of 
Panama for the Return of Stolen, Robbed, or Converted Vehicles and 
Aircraft, with Annexes, signed at Panama on June 6, 2000, and a related 
exchange of notes of July 25, 2000. I transmit also, for the 
information of the Senate, the report of the Department of State with 
respect to the Treaty.
  The Treaty is one of a series of stolen vehicle treaties being 
negotiated by the United States in order to eliminate the difficulties 
faced by owners of vehicles that have been stolen and transported 
across international borders. Like several in this series, this Treaty 
also covers aircraft. When it enters into force, it will be an 
effective tool to facilitate the return of U.S. vehicles and aircraft 
that have been stolen, robbed, or converted and taken to Panama.
  I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to 
the Treaty, with Annexes and a related exchange of notes, and give its 
advice and consent to ratification.
                                                  William J. Clinton.  
The White House, September 5, 2000.

                          ____________________