[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
[March 19, 1991]
[Page 289]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Message to the Senate Transmitting the Congo-United States Investment 
Treaty
March 19, 1991

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 
of America and the People's Republic of the Congo Concerning the 
Reciprocal Encouragement and Protection of Investment, signed at 
Washington on February 12, 1990. 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) program, initiated in 1981, is 
designed to encourage and protect U.S. investment. The treaty is an 
integral part of U.S. efforts to encourage the Congo and other 
governments to adopt macroeconomic and structural policies that will 
promote economic growth. It is also fully consistent with U.S. policy 
toward international investment. That policy holds that an open 
international investment system in which participants respond to market 
forces provides the best and most efficient mechanism to promote global 
economic development. A specific tenet, reflected in this treaty, is 
that U.S. direct investment abroad and foreign investment in the United 
States should receive fair, equitable, and nondiscriminatory treatment. 
Under this treaty, the Parties also agree to international law standards 
for expropriation and compensation; to free financial transfers; and to 
procedures, including international arbitration, for the settlement of 
investment disputes.
    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.

                                                             George Bush

The White House,
March 19, 1991.