[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 4799-4800]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       EXECUTIVE MESSAGE REFERRED

  As in executive session the Presiding Officer laid before the Senate 
a message from the President of the United States submiting a treaty 
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
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 United States 
and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay Concerning the Encouragement and 
Reciprocal Protection of Investment, with Annexes and Protocol, signed 
at Mar del Plata, Argentina, on November 4, 2005. I transmit also, for 
the information of the Senate, the report prepared by the Department of 
State with respect to the Treaty.
  The Treaty is the first bilateral investment treaty (BIT) concluded 
since 1999 and the first negotiated on the

[[Page 4800]]

basis of a new U.S. model BIT text, which was completed in 2004. The 
new model text draws on long-standing U.S. BIT principles, our 
experience with Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement 
(NAFTA), and the executive branch's collaboration with the Congress in 
developing negotiating objectives on foreign investment for U.S. free 
trade agreements. The Treaty will establish investment protections that 
will create more favorable conditions for U.S. investment in Uruguay 
and assist Uruguay in its efforts to further develop its economy.
  The Treaty is fully consistent with U.S. policy towards international 
and domestic investment. A specific tenet of U.S. investment policy, 
reflected in this Treaty, is that U.S. investment abroad and foreign 
investment in the United States should receive national treatment and 
most-favored-nation treatment. Under this Treaty, the Parties also 
agree to customary international law standards for expropriation and 
for the minimum standard of treatment. The Treaty includes detailed 
provisions regarding the computation and payment of prompt, adequate, 
and effective compensation for expropriation; free transfer of funds 
related to investment; freedom of investment from specified performance 
requirements; and the opportunity of investors to choose to resolve 
disputes with a host government through international arbitration. The 
Treaty also includes extensive transparency obligations with respect to 
national laws and regulations, and commitments to transparency and 
public participation in dispute settlement. The Parties also recognize 
that it is inappropriate to encourage investment by weakening or 
reducing the protections afforded in domestic environmental and labor 
laws.
  I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to 
the Treaty and give its advice and consent to ratification.
                                                      George W. Bush.  
The White House, April 4, 2006.

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