LETTER OF SUBMITTAL. The PRESIDENT, Department of State, THE PRESIDENT: I have the honor to submit to you the Extra- dition Treaty between the United States of America and the Argen- tine Republic (the ‘‘Treaty’’), signed at Buenos Aires on June 10, 1997. I recommend that the Treaty be transmitted to the Senate for its advice and consent to ratification. The Treaty follows closely the form and content of extradition treaties recently concluded by the United States. The Treaty rep- resents part of a concerted effort by the Department of State and the Department of Justice to develop modern extradition relation- ships to enhance the ability of the United States to prosecute seri- ous offenders, including, especially, narcotics traffickers and terror- ists. The Treaty marks a significant step in bilateral cooperation be- tween the United States and Argentina. Upon entry into force, it would supersede the extradition treaty currently in force between the two countries, which was signed at Washington on January 21, 1972. That treaty has become outmoded and the new treaty will provide significant improvements. The Treaty can be implemented without new legislation.
Article 1 obligates each Party to extradite to the other, pursuant to the provisions of the Treaty, any person charged with or found guilty of an extraditable offense in the Requesting State.
Article 2(1) defines an extraditable offense as one punishable under the laws in both Parties by deprivation of liberty for a maxi- mum period of more than one year, or by a more severe penalty. Use of such a ‘‘dual criminality’’ clause rather than a list of of- fenses covered by the Treaty obviates the need to renegotiate or supplement the Treaty as additional offenses become punishable under the laws of both Parties.
Article 2(2) defines an extraditable offense to include also an at- tempt or a conspiracy to commit, or the participation in the com- mission of, an extraditable offense. Additional flexibility is provided by Article 2(3), which provides that an offense shall be considered an extraditable offense: whether or not the laws in the Contracting States place the offense within the same category of offenses or describe the offense by the same terminology; or whether or not the offense is one for which United States federal law requires the showing of such matters as inter- state transportation or use of the mails or of other facilities affect-
LETTER OF SUBMITTAL. Department of State
LETTER OF SUBMITTAL. Department of State, THE PRESIDENT: I have the honor to submit to you the Treaty Be- tween the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (‘‘the Treaty’’), signed at Port of Spain on March 4, 1996. I recommend that the Treaty be transmitted to the Senate for its advice and consent to ratification. The Treaty covers mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. In recent years, similar bilateral treaties have entered into force with a number of other countries. The Treaty with Trinidad and Tobago contains all essential pro- visions sought by the United States. It will enhance our ability to investigate and prosecute a variety of offenses, including drug traf- ficking offenses of particular interest to the U.S. law enforcement community with respect to Trinidad and Tobago. The Treaty is de- signed to be self-executing and will not require implementing legis- lation.
Article 1 sets forth a non-exclusive list of the major types of as- sistance to be provided under the Treaty, including taking the tes- xxxxxx or statements of persons; providing documents, records and articles of evidence; serving documents; locating or identifying per- sons; transferring persons in custody for testimony or other pur- poses; executing requests for searches and seizures; assisting in proceedings related to restraint, confiscation, forfeiture of assets, restitution, and collection of fines; examining objects and sites; and rendering any other form of assistance not prohibited by the laws of the Requested State. The scope of the Treaty includes not only criminal offenses, but also proceedings related to criminal matters, which may be civil or administrative in nature.
LETTER OF SUBMITTAL. THE PRESIDENT, DEPARTMENT OF STATE, THE PRESIDENT: I have the honor to submit to you the Agree- ment between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Hong Kong For the Surrender of Fugitive Of- fenders, (hereinafter referred to as ‘‘the Agreement’’), signed at Hong Kong on December 20, 1996. I recommend that the Agree- ment be transferred to the Senate for its advice and consent to rati- fication as a treaty as soon as possible so that it may become effec- tive prior to the reversion of Hong Kong to the sovereignty of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on July 1, 1997. Given the ab- sence of an extradition treaty with the PRC, this US-Hong Kong treaty would provide the means to ensure an ongoing extradition relationship with Hong Kong, avoiding a gap in our law enforce- ment relationship. The Agreement follows generally the form and content of extra- dition treaties recently concluded by the United States. It rep- resents a concerted effort by the Department of State and the De- partment of Justice to modernize the legal tools available for the extradition of serious offenders such as narcotics traffickers and terrorists and also to address the particular issues related to the status of Hong Kong. respect of an offense described in Article 2.
LETTER OF SUBMITTAL. The PRESIDENT, Department of State,
LETTER OF SUBMITTAL. The PRESIDENT, Department of State, THE PRESIDENT: I have the honor to submit to you the Conven- tion Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Malta for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income, signed on August 8, 2008, at Valletta (the ‘‘proposed Convention’’). I recommend that the proposed Convention be transmitted to the Senate for its advice and consent to ratification. The proposed Convention provides for reduced withholding rates on cross-border dividend payments, and the elimination of with- holding on cross-border dividend payments to pension funds. It pro- vides for withholding at a 10 percent rate on interest, royalties, and other income. The proposed Convention contains a comprehensive provision de- signed to prevent ‘‘treaty shopping,’’ which is the inappropriate use of a tax treaty by third-country residents. The treaty shopping pro- tections in the proposed Convention are more restrictive than those in any other U.S. tax treaty to address certain unique features of Malta’s tax system. The proposed Treaty also provides for the ex- change of information between the competent authorities to facili- xxxx the administration of each country’s tax laws. United States concerns with respect to the inappropriate use of the tax treaty by third-country residents and inadequate information exchange by Malta prompted the United States to terminate the previous 1980 U.S.-Malta tax treaty, effective January 1, 1997. The new proposed Convention satisfactorily addresses both concerns. An Overview of key provisions of the proposed Convention is enclosed with this re- port. The proposed Convention was negotiated in recognition of the im- portance of the United States’ economic relations with Malta. The Department of the Treasury and the Department of State xxxxxx- ated in the negotiation of the proposed Convention, and the De- partment of the Treasury joins the Department of State in recom- mending that the proposed Convention be transmitted to the Sen- ate as soon as possible for its advice and consent to ratification. Respectfully submitted, Enclosures: As stated.
LETTER OF SUBMITTAL. The PRESIDENT, Department of State, THE PRESIDENT: I have the honor to submit to you the Treaty Be- tween the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Barbados on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (‘‘the Treaty’’), signed at Bridgetown on February 28, 1996. I recommend that the Treaty be transmitted to the Senate for its advice and consent to ratification. The Treaty covers mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. In recent years, similar bilateral treaties have entered into force with a number of other countries. This Treaty contains many provi- sions similar to those in the other treaties. The Treaty with Barbados contains all essential provisions sought by the United States. It will enhance our ability to inves- tigate and prosecute a variety of offenses, including white collar crime and drug trafficking offenses of particular interest to the U.S. law enforcement community with respect to Barbados. The Treaty is designed to be self-executing and will not require new legislation.
Article 1 sets forth a non-exclusive list of the major types of as- sistance to be provided under the Treaty, including taking the tes- xxxxxx or statements of persons; providing documents, records and articles of evidence; serving documents; locating or identifying per- sons; transferring persons in custody for testimony or other pur- poses; executing requests for searches and seizures; assisting in proceedings related to immobilization and forfeiture of assets, res- titution and the collection of fines; and rendering any other form of assistance not prohibited by the laws of the Requested State. The scope of the Treaty includes not only criminal offenses, but also proceedings related to criminal matters, which may be civil or administrative in nature.
Article 1 states that, except as otherwise provided in the Treaty, assistance shall be provided without regard to whether the conduct involved would constitute an offense under the laws of the Re- quested State.
LETTER OF SUBMITTAL. The PRESIDENT, DEPARTMENT OF STATE, THE PRESIDENT: I have the honor to submit to you the Treaty Be- tween the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Saint Xxxxxxx and the Grenadines on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (‘‘the Treaty’’) and a related Proto- col, signed at Kingstown on January 8, 1998. I recommend that the Treaty be transmitted to the Senate for its advice and consent to ratification. The Treaty covers mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. In recent years, similar bilateral treaties have entered into force with a number of other countries. The Treaty with the Government of Saint Xxxxxxx and the Gren- adines contains all essential provisions sought by the United States. It will enhance our ability to investigate and prosecute a variety of offsenses, including drug-trafficking offenses of particular interest to the United States law enforcement community. The Treaty is designed to be self-executing and will not require new legislation.
Article 1 sets forth a non-exclusive list of the major types of as- sistance to be provided under the Treaty, including taking the tes- xxxxxx or statements of persons; providing documents, records and articles of evidence; serving documents; locating or identifying per- sons; transferring persons in custody for testimony or other pur- poses; executing requests for searches and seizures; assisting in proceedings related to immobilization and forfeiture of assets; res- titution; collection of fines; and any other form of assistance not prohibited by the laws of the Requested State.
LETTER OF SUBMITTAL. The PRESIDENT, DEPARTMENT OF STATE, THE PRESIDENT: I have the honor to submit to you, with a view to its transmittal to the Senate for advice and consent to ratifica- tion, the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Russian Federation on the Conservation and Management of the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear Population done at Washington on October 16, 2000 (the ‘‘U.S.-Rus- sia Agreement’’). The U.S.-Russia Agreement is designed to afford protections to this polar bear population in addition to those provided by the mul- tilateral Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears done at Oslo, November 15, 1973, (the ‘‘1973 Agreement’’), an agreement to which the United States and Russia are parties. (The other parties are Norway, Canada and Denmark.) The U.S.-Russia Agreement will establish a common legal, scientific and administrative frame- work for the conservation and management of the Alaska- Chukotka polar bear population, which is shared by the United States and the Russian Federation. Unified and binding protection is needed to ensure that the taking of polar bears by native people in Alaska and the Chukotka region and other activities do not ad- versely affect this polar bear population. The 1973 Agreement allows the taking of polar bears for subsist- ence purposes by native people, as does our domestic legislation— the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA)—in respect to Alaska natives. The U.S.-Russia Agreement advances the 1973 Agreement in several ways. For example, it provides a definition of ‘‘sustain- able harvest’’ that will help the United States and Russia to imple- ment polar bear conservation measures. In addition, the U.S.-Rus- sia Agreement establishes the ‘‘U.S.-Russia Polar Bear Commis- sion,’’ which would function as the bilateral managing authority to make scientific determinations, establish harvest limits and carry out other responsibilities under the terms of the bilateral agree- ment. The Agreement would strengthen the capability of our coun- tries to implement coordinated conservation measures for our shared polar bear population. The United States would implement habitat components of the proposed U.S.-Russia Agreement through existing provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and other Federal statutes. Al- though the U.S.-Russia Agreement is consistent with current prac- xxxx, some legislative amendments and new authorities will be nec- xxxxxx to ensure its implementation. We ar...
LETTER OF SUBMITTAL. The PRESIDENT, DEPARTMENT OF STATE, THE PRESIDENT: I have the honor to submit to you, with a view to their transmission to the Senate for advice and consent to ratifi- cation, the World Intellectual Property Organization (‘‘WIPO’’) Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, both done at Geneva on December 20, 1996 (hereinafter, ‘‘the Treaties’’). These Treaties were adopted under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organization to strengthen inter- national standards for the protection of copyright. Each of the Treaties contains provisions that are the same as provisions in the other Treaty, as well as provisions specific to its own subject matter.
