Agreement on Trade Relations Between the United States of America and the Republic of Bulgaria

USA - BULGARIA TREATY CONCERNING THE ENCOURAGEMENT AND RECIPROCAL PROTECTION OF INVESTMENT

Signed September 23, 1992; Entered into Force June 2, 1994

MESSAGE

FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

TRANSMITTING

THE TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA CONCERNING THE ENCOURAGEMENT AND RECIPROCAL PROTECTION OF INVESTMENT, WITH PROTOCOL AND RELATED EXCHANGE OF LETTERS, SIGNED AT WASHINGTON ON SEPTEMBER 23, 1992

JANUARY- 21, 1993 -Treaty was read the first time and, together with the accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations and ordered to be printed for the use of the Senate

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

___________

THE WHITE HOUSE January 19, 1993

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 Republic of Bulgaria Concerning the Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of Investment, wiih Protocol and related exchange of letters, signed at Washington on September 23, 1992. I transmit also, for the information of the Senate, the report of the Department of State with respect to this Treaty.
    The Treaty will help to encourage U.S. private sector involvement in the Bulgarian economy by establishing a favorable legal framework for U.S. investment in Bulgaria. The Treaty is fully consistent with U.S. policy toward international investment. A specific tenet, reflected in this Treaty, is that U.S. 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 expropriation compensation; free transfers of funds associated with investments; and the option of the investor to resolve disputes with the host government through international arbitration.
    I recommend that the Senate consider this Treaty as soon as possible, and give its advice and consent to ratification of the Treaty, with Protocol and related exchange of letters, at an early date.

GEORGE BUSH.

LETTER OF SUBMITTAL

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Washington, January 12, 1993.

9300320
The President,
The White House
   THE PRESIDENT: I have the honor to submit to you the Treaty Between the United States of America and the Republic of Bulgaria Concerning the Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of Investment, with Protocol and related exchange of letters, signed at Washington on September 23, 1992. I recommend that this Treaty, with Protocol and related exchange of letters, be transmitted to the Senate for its advice and. consent to ratification.
    This marks the fourth bilateral investment treaty (BIT) or business and economic relations treaty that the United States has signed with an Eastern European partner. This Treaty will assist Bulgaria in its transition to a market economy by creating favorable conditions for U.S. private investment, helping to attract such investment and thus strengthening the development of the private sector. It is U.S. policy, however, to advise potential treaty partners that conclusion of a BIT does not necessarily result in immediate increases in private U.S. investment flows.
    The United States has also signed BITs with Argentina, Armenia, Bangladesh, Cameroon, the Congo, the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, Egypt, Grenada, Haiti, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Panama, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Turkey and Zaire--and a business and economic relations treaty with Poland, which contains the BIT elements. The Office of the United States Trade Representative and the Department of State jointly lead BIT negotiations, with assistance froni the Departments of Commerce and Treasury.

THE UNITED STATES-BULGARIA TREATY

    The Treaty with Bulgaria satisfies the principal BIT objectives, which are:
    Investments of nationals and companies of either Party in the territory of the other Party (Investments) receive the better of national treatment or most-favored-nation (MFN) treatment, subject to certain specified exceptions, both on establishment and thereafter;
     Investments are guaranteed freedom from performance requirements, including requirements to use local products or to export local goods;
    Companies which are investments may hire top managers of their choice, regardless of nationality,
    Expropriation can occur only in accordance with international al law standards: in a nondiscriminatory manner, for a public purpose; and upon payment of prompt, adequate, and effective compensation;
    Investments are guaranteed the unrestricted transfer of funds in a freely usable currency, and nationals and companies of either Party, in investment disputes with the host government, have access to binding international arbitration, without first resorting to domestic courts.
    Described below are significant provisions in the U.S.-Bulgaria Treaty which either differ from some of our past BITs or warrant special mention.
    U.S. bilateral investment treaties allow for sectoral exceptions to national and MFN treatment. The U.S. exceptions are designed to protect governmental regulatory interests and to accommodate the derogations from national treatment and, in some cases, MFN treatment in existing federal law. The U.S. exceptions from national treatment are air transportation; ocean and coastal shipping, banking, insurance; government grants; government insurance and loan programs; energy and power production; custom house brokers; ownership of real property, ownership and operation of broadcast or common carrier radio and television stations; ownership of shares in the Communications Satellite Corporation; the provision of common carrier telephone and telegraph services; the provision of submarine cable services; use of land and natural resources; mining on the public domain maritime services and maritime-related services; and primary dealership in United States government securities.
    The U.S. exceptions from both national and MFN treatment are ownership of real property, mining on the public domain, maritime services and maritime-related services and primary dealership in U.S. government securities. Except for ownership of real property, MFN exceptions are based on reciprocity provisions in existing federal laws.
     The Bulgarian exceptions to national treatment are banking, insurance; ownership of real estate; leases of farm land and forest land, air; rail, and maritime transportation; governmental subsidies; government insurance and loan programs; energy and power production; customs house brokers; provision of telephone and telegraph services; use of land, natural resources, and mining, ownership and operation of broadcast or common carrier radio and television stations; and dealership in securities. Bulgaria has not reserved any sectoral exceptions to MFN treatment.
    At the request of Bulgaria, the Treaty includes a Protocol which excludes from consideration as investments certain loans that were extended prior to January 1, 1992 to the Government of Bulgaria for trade finance or balance of payments reasons, and that are subsequently rescheduled in the London Club.
    This Treaty, consistent with the model BIT, does not oblige a Party to extend to the other Party's investments the advantages accorded to third-country investments by virtue of binding obligations that derive from full membership in a free trade area of customs union. This provision ensures MFN treatment for U.S. investments in all cases, where Bulgaria's relationship with the third country falls short of constituting a free trade area or customs union.
    The BIT with Bulgaria contains several provisions designed to resolve problems that U.S. business traditionally has faced in the centrally-controlled, non-market economies of Central and East Europe, and which may continue to impede U.S. investments during the transition to a market economy.
    One such provision (Article II (10)) clarifies that nationals and companies of either Party receive the better of national or MFN treatment with respect to an expanded and detailed list of activities associated with their investments. These include: access to registrations, licenses, and permits; access to financial institutions and credit markets; access to their funds held in financial institutions; the importation and installation of business equipment; advertising and the conduct of market studies; the appointment of commercial representatives; direct marketing; access to public utilities; and access to raw materials. The right to the better of national or MFN treatment in these activities requires that Bulgaria grant U.S. nationals and companies treatment no less favorable than that granted to local enterprises, including those that remain under state ownership or control.
    The Treaty also provides, in a related exchange of letters, that the Bulgarian Government will designate an entity to assist U.S. nationals and companies overcome problems relating to bureaucracy and lack of knowledge. The entity's task will include providing up-to-date information on business and investment regulations, collecting and disseminating information regarding investment projects and financing, and coordinating with Bulgarian agencies, at all levels, to facilitate U.S. investment.
    The other U.S. Government agencies which negotiated the Treaty join me in recommending that it be transmitted to the Senate at an early date.
Respectfully submitted,

                                                                                         ARNOLD KANTER,
                                                                                                 Acting Secretary

TREATY BETWEEN
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE
REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA
CONCERNING THE ENCOURAGEMENT
AND RECIPROCAL PROTECTION OF INVESTMENT

     The United States of America and the Republic of Bulgaria (hereinafter the "Parties");

     Desiring to promote greater economic cooperation between them with respect to investment by nationals and companies of one Party in the territory of the other Party;

     Recognizing that agreement upon the treatment to be accorded such investment will stimulate the flow of private capital and the economic development of the Parties;

     Agreeing that fair and equitable treatment of investment is desirable in order to maintain a stable framework for investment and maximum effective utilization of economic resources;

     Recognizing that the development of economic and business ties can contribute to the well-being of workers in both Parties and promote respect for internationally recognized worker rights;

     Convinced that a free and open market for investment offers the best opportunity for raising living standards and the quality of life for the inhabitants of the Parties; and

     Having resolved to conclude a Treaty concerning the encouragement and reciprocal protection of investment;

     Have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE I

1. For the purposes of this Treaty,

(a) "investment" means every kind of investment in the territory of one Party owned or controlled directly or indirectly by nationals or companies of the other Party, such as equity, debt, and service and investment contracts; and includes:

(i) tangible and intangible property, including rights such as mortgages, liens and pledges;

(ii) a company or shares of stock or other interests in a company or interests in the assets thereof;

(iii) a claim to money or a claim to performance having economic value, and associated with an investment;

(iv) intellectual property which includes, inter alia, rights relating to:

      literary and artistic works, including sound recordings;

      inventions in all fields of human endeavor;

      industrial designs;

      semiconductor mask works;

      trade secrets, know-how, and confidential business information;

      trademarks, service marks, and trade names; and

(v) any right conferred by law or contract, and any licenses and permits pursuant to law;

(b) "company" of a Party means any kind of corporation, company, association, partnership, state enterprise, or other organization, legally constituted under the laws and regulations of a Party or a political subdivision thereof whether or not organized for pecuniary gain, or privately or governmentally owned or controlled;

(c) "national" of a Party means a natural person who is a national of a Party under its applicable law;

(d) "return" means an amount derived from or associated with an investment, including profit; dividend; interest; capital gain; royalty payment; management, technical assistance or other fee; or return in kind;

(e) "associated activities" include the organization, control, operation, maintenance and disposition of companies, branches, agencies, offices, factories or other facilities for the conduct of business; the making, performance and enforcement of contracts; the acquisition, use, protection and disposition of property of all kinds including intellectual and industrial property rights; the borrowing of funds; the purchase, issuance, and sale of equity shares and other securities; and the purchase of foreign exchange for imports.

(f) "nondiscriminatory" treatment means treatment that is at least as favorable as the better of national treatment or most-favored-nation treatment;

(g) "national treatment" means treatment that is at least as favorable as the most favorable treatment accorded by a Party to companies or nationals of that Party in like circumstances; and

(h) "most-favored-nation treatment" means treatment that is at least as favorable as that accorded by a Party to companies or nationals of third Parties in like circumstances.

2. Each Party reserves the right to deny to any company the advantages of this Treaty if nationals of any third country control such company and, in the case of a company of the other Party, that company has no substantial business activities in the territory of the other Party or is controlled by nationals of a third country with which the denying Party does not maintain normal economic relations.

3. Any alteration of the form in which assets are invested or reinvested shall not affect their character as an investment.

ARTICLE II

1. Each Party shall permit and treat investment, and activities associated therewith, on a nondiscriminatory basis, subject to the right of each Party to make or maintain exceptions falling within one of the sectors or matters listed in the Annex to this Treaty. Each Party agrees to notify the other Party before or on the date of entry into force of this Treaty of all such laws and regulations of which it is aware concerning the sectors or matters listed in the Annex. Moreover, each Party agrees to notify the other of any future exception with respect to the sectors or matters listed in the Annex, and to limit such exceptions to a minimum. Any future exception by either Party shall not apply to investment existing in that sector or matter at the time the exception becomes effective. The treatment accorded pursuant to any exceptions shall unless specified otherwise in the Annex, be not less favorable than that accorded in like situations to investments and associated activities of nationals or companies of any third country.

2. (a) Investment shall at all times be accorded fair and equitable treatment, shall enjoy full protection and security and shall in no case be accorded treatment less than that required by international law.

(b) Neither Party shall in any way impair by arbitrary or discriminatory measures the management, operation, maintenance, use, enjoyment, acquisition, expansion, or disposal of investments. For purposes of dispute resolution under Article VI and VII, a measure may be arbitrary or discriminatory notwithstanding the fact that a party has had or has exercised the opportunity to review such measure in the courts or administrative tribunals of a Party.

(c) Each Party shall observe any obligation it may have entered into with regard to investments.

3. Subject to the laws relating to the entry and sojourn of aliens, nationals of either Party shall be permitted to enter and to remain in the territory of the other Party for the purpose of establishing, developing, administering or advising on the operation of an investment to which they, or a company of the first Party that employs them, have committed or are in the process of committing a substantial amount of capital or other resources.

4. Companies which are legally constituted under the applicable laws or regulations of one Party, and which are investments, shall be permitted to engage top managerial personnel of their choice, regardless of nationality.

5. Neither Party shall impose performance requirements as a condition of establishment, expansion or maintenance of investments, which require or enforce commitments to export goods produced, or which specify that goods or services must be purchased locally, or which impose any other similar requirements.

6. Each Party shall provide effective means of asserting claims and enforcing rights with respect to investments, investment agreements, and investment authorizations.

7. Each Party shall make public all laws, regulations, administrative practices and procedures, and adjudicatory decisions that pertain to or affect investments.

8. The treatment accorded by the United States of America to investments and associated activities of nationals and companies of the Republic of Bulgaria under the provisions of this Article shall in any State, Territory or possession of the United States of America be no less favorable than the treatment accorded therein to investments and associated activities of nationals of the United States of America resident in, and companies legally constituted under the laws and regulations of, other States, Territories or possessions of the United States of America.

9. The most-favored-nation provisions of this Treaty shall not apply to advantages accorded by either Party to nationals or companies of any third country by virtue of:

(a) that Party's binding obligations that derive from full membership in a free trade area or customs union; or

(b) that Party's binding obligations under any multilateral international agreement under the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade that enters into force subsequent to the signature of this Treaty.

10. The Parties acknowledge and agree that "associated activities" include without limitation, such activities as:

(a) the granting of franchises or rights under licenses;

(b) access to registrations, licenses, permits and other approvals (which shall in any event be issued expeditiously);

(c) access to financial institutions and credit markets;

(d) access to their funds held in financial institutions;

(e) the importation and installation of equipment necessary for the normal conduct of business affairs, including, but not limited to, office equipment and automobiles, and the export of any equipment and automobiles so imported;

(f) the dissemination of commercial information;

(g) the conduct of market studies;

(h) the appointment of commercial representatives, including agents, consultants and distributors and their participation in trade fairs and promotion events;

(i) the marketing of goods and services, including through internal distribution and marketing systems, as well as by advertising and direct contact with individuals and companies;

(j) access to public utilities, public services and commercial rental space at nondiscriminatory prices, if the prices are set or controlled by the government; and

(k) access to raw materials, inputs and services of all types at nondiscriminatory prices, if the prices are set or controlled by the government.

ARTICLE III

1. Investments shall not be expropriated or nationalized either directly or indirectly through measures tantamount in their consequences to expropriation or nationalization ("expropriation") except: for a public purpose; in a nondiscriminatory manner; upon payment of prompt, adequate and effective compensation; and in accordance with due process of law and the general principles of treatment provided for in Article II (2). Compensation shall be equivalent to the fair market value of the expropriated investment immediately before the expropriatory action was taken or became known, whichever is earlier; be paid without delay; include interest at a commercially reasonable rate from the date of expropriation; be fully realizable; and be freely transferable at the prevailing market rate of exchange on the date of expropriation.

2. A national or company of either Party that asserts that all or part of its investment has been expropriated shall have a right to prompt review by the appropriate judicial or administrative authorities of the other Party to determine whether any such expropriation has occurred and, if so, whether such expropriation, and any compensation therefor, conforms to the principles of international law.

3. Nationals or companies of either Party whose investments suffer losses in the territory of the other Party owing to war or other armed conflict, revolution, state of national emergency, insurrection, civil disturbance or other similar events shall be accorded nondiscriminatory treatment by such other Party as regards any measures it adopts in relation to such losses.

ARTICLE IV

1. Each Party shall permit all transfers related to an investment to be made freely and without delay into and out of its territory. Such transfers include: (a) returns; (b) compensation pursuant to Article III; (c) payments arising out of an investment dispute; (d) payments made under a contract, including amortization of principal and accrued interest payments made pursuant to a loan agreement; (e) proceeds from the sale or liquidation of all or any part of an investment; and (f) additional contributions to capital for the maintenance or development of an investment.

2. Except as provided in Article III (1), transfers shall be made in a freely usable currency at the prevailing market rate of exchange on the date of transfer with respect to spot transactions in the currency to be transferred.

3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, either Party may maintain laws and regulations (a) requiring reports of currency transfer; and (b) imposing income taxes by such means as a withholding tax applicable to dividends or other transfers. Furthermore, either Party may protect the rights of creditors, or ensure the satisfaction of judgments in adjudicatory proceedings, through the equitable, nondiscriminatory and good faith application of its law.

ARTICLE V

The Parties agree to consult promptly, on the request of either, to resolve any disputes in connection with the Treaty, or to discuss any matter relating to the interpretation or application of the Treaty.

ARTICLE VI

1. For the purposes of this Article, an investment dispute is defined as a dispute involving (a) the interpretation or application of an investment agreement between a Party and a national or company of the other Party; (b) an alleged breach of any right conferred or created by this Treaty with respect to an investment; or (c) the interpretation or application of any investment authorization granted by a Party's foreign investment authority to such national or company, provided that the denial of an investment authorization shall not in itself constitute an investment dispute unless such denial involves an alleged breach of any right conferred or created by the Treaty.

2. In the event of an investment dispute between a Party and a national or company of the other Party, the parties to the dispute shall initially seek to resolve the dispute by consultation and negotiation, which may include the use of nonbinding, third party procedures. Subject to paragraph 3 of this Article, if the dispute cannot be resolved through consultation and negotiation, the dispute shall be submitted for settlement in accordance with previously agreed, applicable disputesettlement procedures; any disputeent procedures including those relating to expropriation and specified in the investment agreement shall remain binding and shall be enforceable in accordance with the terms of the investment agreement, relevant provisions of domestic laws, and applicable international agreements regarding enforcement of arbitral awards.

3. (a) At any time after six months from the date on which the dispute arose, the national or company concerned may choose to consent in writing to the submission of the dispute for settlement by conciliation or binding arbitration to the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes ("Centre") or to the Additional Facility of the Centre or pursuant to the Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law ("UNCITRAL") or pursuant to the arbitration rules of any arbitral institution mutually agreed between the parties to the dispute. Once the national or company concerned has so consented, either party to the dispute may institute such proceeding provided:

(i) the dispute has not been submitted by the national or company for resolution in accordance with any applicable previously agreed disputesettlement procedures; and

(ii) the national or company concerned has not brought the dispute before the courts of justice or administrative tribunals or agencies of competent jurisdiction of the Party that is a party to the dispute.

If the parties disagree over whether conciliation or binding arbitration is the more appropriate procedure to be employed, the opinion of the national or company concerned shall prevail.

(b) Each Party hereby consents to the submission of an investment dispute for settlement by conciliation or binding arbitration:

(i) to the Centre, in the event that the Republic of Bulgaria becomes a party to the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes Between States and Nationals of Other States done at Washington, March 18, 1965 ("Convention") and the Regulations and Rules of the Centre;

(ii) to the Additional Facility of the Centre; and

(iii) to an arbitral tribunal established under the UNCITRAL Rules, the appointing authority referenced therein to be the Secretary General of the Centre.

     (c) Conciliation or arbitration of disputes under (b)(i) or (b)(ii) shall be done applying the provisions of the Convention and the Regulations and Rules of the Centre, or of the Additional Facility as the case may be.

     (d) The place of any arbitration conducted under this Article shall be a country which is, at the time of the arbitration, a party to the 1958 United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.

     (e) Each Party undertakes to carry out without delay the provisions of any award resulting from an arbitration held in accordance with this Article VI. Further, each Party shall provide for the enforcement in its territory of such arbitral awards.

4. In any proceeding involving an investment dispute, a Party shall not assert, as a defense, counterright of setf or otherwise, that the national or company concerned has received or will receive, pursuant to an insurance or guarantee contract, indemnification or other compensation for all or part of its alleged damages.

5. For the purposes of this Article, any company legally constituted under the applicable laws and regulations of either Party or a political subdivision thereof but that, immediately before the occurrence of the event or events giving rise to the dispute, was an investment of nationals or companies of the other Party, shall, in accordance with Article 25(2)(b) of the Convention, be treated as a national or company of such other Party.

ARTICLE VII

1. Any dispute between the Parties concerning the interpretation or application of the Treaty which is not resolved through consultations or other diplomatic channels, shall be submitted, upon the request of either Party, to an arbitral tribunal for binding decision in accordance with the applicable rules of international law. In the absence of an agreement by the Parties to the contrary, the arbitration rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), except to the extent modified by the Parties, shall govern.

2. Within two months of receipt of a request, each Party shall appoint an arbitrator. The two arbitrators shall select a third arbitrator as Chairman, who is a national of a third State. The UNCITRAL Rules for appointing members of three member panels shall apply mutatis mutandis to the appointment of the arbitral panel except that the appointing authority referenced in those rules shall be the Secretary General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

3. Unless otherwise agreed, all submissions shall be made and all hearings shall be completed within six months of the date of selection of the third arbitrator, and the Tribunal shall render its decisions within two months of the date of the final submissions or the date of the closing of the hearings, whichever is later.

4. Expenses incurred by the Chairman, the other arbitrators, and other costs of the proceedings shall be paid for equally by the Parties. Each Party shall bear the costs of its legal representation.

ARTICLE VIII

The provisions of Article VI and VII shall not apply to a dispute arising (a) under the export credit, guarantee or insurance programs of the Export-Import Bank of the United States or, (b) under other official credit, guarantee or insurance arrangements pursuant to which the Parties have agreed to other means of settling disputes.

ARTICLE IX

This Treaty shall not derogate from:

(a) laws and regulations, administrative practices or procedures, or administrative or adjudicatory decisions of either Party;

(b) international legal obligations; or

(c) obligations assumed by either Party, including those contained in an investment agreement or an investment authorization, that entitle investments or associated activities to treatment more favorable than that accorded by this Treaty in like situations.

ARTICLE X

1. This Treaty shall not preclude the application by either Party of measures necessary for the maintenance of public order, the fulfillment of its obligations with respect to the maintenance or restoration of international peace or security, or the protection of its own essential security interests.

2. This Treaty shall not preclude either Party from prescribing special formalities in connection with the establishment of investments, but such formalities shall not impair the substance of any of the rights set forth in this Treaty.

ARTICLE XI

1. With respect to its tax policies, each Party should strive to accord fairness and equity in the treatment of investment of nationals and companies of the other Party.

2. Nevertheless, the provisions of this Treaty, and in particular Article VI and VII, shall apply to matters of taxation only with respect to the following:

(a) expropriation, pursuant to Article III;

(b) transfers, pursuant to Article IV; or

(c) the observance and enforcement of terms of an investment agreement or authorization as referred to in Article VI(l)(a) or (b), to the extent they are not subject to the dispute settlement provisions of a Convention for the avoidance of double taxation between the two Parties, or have been raised under such settlement provisions and are not resolved within a reasonable period of time.

ARTICLE XII

This Treaty shall apply to the political subdivisions of the Parties.

ARTICLE XIII

1. This Treaty shall enter into force thirty days after the date of exchange of instruments of ratification. It shall remain in force for a period of ten years and shall continue in force unless terminated in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article. It shall apply to investments existing at the time of entry into force as well as to investments made or acquired thereafter.

2. Either Party may, by giving one year's written notice to the other Party, terminate this Treaty at the end of the initial ten year period or at any time thereafter.

3. With respect to investments made or acquired prior to the date of termination of this Treaty and to which this Treaty otherwise applies, the provisions of all of the other Articles of this Treaty shall thereafter continue to be effective for a further period of ten years from such date of termination.

4. The Annex and Protocol shall form an integral part of the Treaty.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed this Treaty.

DONE in duplicate at Washington on the twenty-third day of September, 1992, in the English and Bulgarian languages, both texts being equally authentic.

FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: [signature]	FOR THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA: [signature]

ANNEX

1. The United States reserves the right to make or maintain limited exceptions to national treatment, as provided in Article II, paragraph 1, in the sectors or matters it has indicated below:

air transportation; ocean and coastal shipping; banking; insurance; government grants; government insurance and loan programs; energy and power production; custom house brokers; ownership of real property; ownership and operation of broadcast or common carrier radio and television stations; ownership of shares in the Communications Satellite Corporation; the provision of common carrier telephone and telegraph services; the provision of submarine cable services; use of land and natural resources; mining on the public domain; maritime services and maritime-related services; and primary dealership in United States government securities.

2. The United States reserves the right to make or maintain limited exceptions to most favored nation treatment, as provided in Article II, paragraph 1, in the sectors or matters it has indicated below:

ownership of real property; mining on the public domain; maritime services; maritime-related services; and primary dealership in United States government securities.

3. Bulgaria reserves the right to make or maintain limited exceptions to national treatment, as provided in Article 11, paragraph 1, in the sectors or matters it has indicated below:

banking; insurance; ownership of real estate; leases of farm land and forest land; air, rail, and maritime transportation; governmental subsidies; government insurance and loan programs; energy and power production; customs house brokers; provision of telephone and telegraph services; use of land, natural resources, and mining; ownership and operation of broadcast or common carrier radio and television stations; and dealership in government securities.

PROTOCOL

With respect to Article 1, paragraph l(a), the Parties confirm their mutual understanding that investments covered by this Treaty will not include loans that were extended prior to January 1, 1992 to the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria, or to banks owned or controlled by the Government of Bulgaria, including, inter alia, the Foreign Trade Bank, for trade finance or balance of payments purposes, and that are subsequently rescheduled in the London Club.