Updated U.S. Model Bilateral Investment Treaty ("BIT")The Department of State and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), working with other U.S. government agencies, completed an update of the U.S. model bilateral investment treaty (BIT) in November 2004. The resulting text, the 2004 U.S. Model BIT, is available at the link below. The new model contains provisions developed by the Administration to address the investment negotiating objectives of the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002, which incorporated many of the principles from existing U.S. BITs. The model is substantively similar to the investment chapters of the free trade agreements the United States has concluded since the 2002 Act. The State Department and USTR consulted their respective advisory committees and relevant congressional committees in the development of the new model. The United States last updated its model BIT in 1994. Responsibility for BIT policy and negotiations is shared by the State Department and USTR. Points of contact are, in the Department, the Office of Investment Affairs, in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs (202-736-4906/202-736-4060), and, at USTR, the Office of Services, Investment, and Intellectual Property (202-395-9679). |
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