LETTER OF SUBMITTAL
D EPARTMENT OF S TATE , Washington, May 1, 2000.
T HE P RESIDENT : I have the honor to submit to you the Treaty Be- tween the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Honduras Concerning the Encour- agement and Reciprocal Protection of Investment, with Annex and Protocol, signed at Denver on July 1, 1995. I recommend that this Treaty, with Annex and Protocol, be transmitted to the Senate for its advice and consent to ratification. The bilateral investment treaty (BIT) with Honduras is the fourth such treaty signed between the United States and a Central or South American Country. The Treaty is based on the view that an open investment policy contributes to economic growth. This Treaty will assist Honduras 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. It is U.S. policy, however, to advise potential treaty partners during BIT negotiations that conclusion of such a treaty does not necessarily result in increases in private U.S. investment flows. To date, 31 BITs are in force for the United States—with Alba- nia, Argentina; Armenia, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Cameroon, the Re- public of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (for- merly Zaire), the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Geor- gia, Grenada, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Moldova, Mongolia, Morroco, Panama, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, and Ukraine. In addition to the Treaty with Honduras, the United States has signed, but not yet brought into force, BITs with Azerbaijan, Bah- rain, Belarus, Bolivia, Croatia, El Salvador, Jordan, Lithuania, Mo- zambique, Nicaragua, Russia, and Uzbekistan. The Office of the United States Trade Representative and the Department of State jointly led this BIT negotiation, with assist- ance from the Departments of Commerce and Treasury. THE U . S .- HONDURAS TREATY The Treaty with Honduras is based on the 1994 U.S. prototype BIT and satisfies the U.S. principal objectives in bilateral invest- ment treaty negotiations: —All forms of U.S. investment in the territory of Honduras are covered. —Covered investments receive the better of national treat- ment or most-favored-nation (MFN) treatment both while they
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