[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 14 (Monday, April 10, 2006)]
[Page 632]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Message to the Congress Transmitting a Treaty Between the United States 
and Uruguay Concerning the Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of 
Investment

April 4, 2006

To the Congress 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 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.