September 24, 2003

U.S. AND EUROPEAN COMMISSION SIGN BILATERAL UNDERSTANDING FOR ACCESSION COUNTRIES

On September 22, 2003, the United States and the European Commission signed a "Political Understanding" regarding the preservation of U.S. bilateral investment treaties (BITs) with seven countries that are acceding, or are candidates for accession, to the European Union (Romania, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria).

The U.S. Ambassador to the EU, Rockwell Schnabel, and Peter Carl, Director General for Trade, signed the agreement at the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium. This Understanding aims to maintain a positive investment environment in the accession states, while furthering the objective of assuring compatibility between the obligations of U.S. bilateral investment treaties and the obligations of membership in the EU.

The Understanding identifies specific amendments and interpretations that the U.S. will seek to make to BITs with the Accession States, including to the agreement with Romania. The revised U.S.-Romania BIT will enter into force upon Romania's accession to the European Union.

Bilateral Investment Treaties provide important protections to investors of both parties and have contributed to the accession countries' success in attracting investment, by reinforcing their efforts to reform their economic policies and improve their investment climates. The U.S.- Romania BIT entered into force in the year 1994. Treaty partners also benefit from special visa categories for travel to the U.S., which would be important for Romania to maintain after EU entry.

Monday's signing of the political understanding with the EU and Romania is another example of the ongoing cooperation between the U.S. and EU and the U.S. support for Romania's future accession to the EU.

Background info on BITs if needed

The text of current U.S. Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) is located on the Department of Commerce's Trade Compliance Center website: www.tcc.mac.doc.gov.

The site contains the full text of all the U.S. BITs that have entered into force. You can access the BITs by going to the toolbar at the top of the homepage and clicking on "trade agreements;" then click on "bilateral investment treaties" in the "agreement quick links" box on the top of the next page. Choosing a country will take you to the full text of the agreement.