[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 136 (Friday, July 15, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41857-41858]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-17807]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Petition Under Section 302 on Alleged Expropriations by the 
Dominican Republic; Decision Not To Initiate Investigation

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Decision not to initiate investigation.

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SUMMARY: On May 24, 2011, the Office of the United States Trade 
Representative (USTR) received a petition under Section 302 of the 
Trade Act of 1974, as amended (``Trade Act''), requesting that the 
United States Trade Representative (``Trade Representative'') initiate 
an investigation under sections 301-309 of the Trade Act (``Section 
301'') with respect to alleged expropriations without adequate 
compensation by the Government of the Dominican Republic, resulting in 
an alleged breach of the Dominican Republic's obligations under the 
Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement 
(CAFTA-DR), as well as being otherwise unreasonable and discriminatory. 
In accordance with the advice of the interagency Section 301 Committee, 
the Trade Representative has determined

[[Page 41858]]

not to initiate a Section 301 investigation.

DATES: Effective Date: July 8, 2011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan Weinberger, Associate General 
Counsel, (202) 395-0317; Leslie O'Connor, Deputy Assistant USTR for 
Central America and the Dominican Republic, (202) 395-5190; Kimberley 
Claman, Senior Director for Investment Affairs & Financial Services, 
(202) 395-4510; and William Busis, Deputy Assistant USTR for Monitoring 
and Enforcement and Chair of the Section 301 Committee, (202) 395-3150.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 24, 2011, representatives of two 
individuals--Mauricio Gadala Maria and Carolina Maratos Gadala Maria--
filed a petition requesting that the Trade Representative initiate a 
Section 301 investigation with respect to alleged expropriations 
without adequate compensation by the Government of the Dominican 
Republic. The petition states that Elias Gadala Maria--the father of 
the two petitioners--was a national of El Salvador who invested in the 
Dominican Republic in the early 1950s, during the Trujillo regime. The 
property of Mr. Gadala Maria, according to the petition, was 
nationalized in 1961 and 1962 following the end of the Trujillo regime. 
The two petitioners--U.S. nationals who reside in Florida--allege to be 
heirs of Mr. Gadala Maria, and thus claim a property interest in having 
the Dominican Republic provide adequate compensation for the alleged 
expropriations. The petition also alleges that the Government of the 
Dominican Republic has continued to take actions--as recently as March 
2011--that infringe petitioners' property rights.
    Petitioners allege that the Government of the Dominican Republic 
breached its CAFTA-DR obligations to accord ``fair and equitable 
treatment and full protection and security,'' and to provide ``prompt, 
adequate and, effective compensation,'' with respect to investments 
covered by the CAFTA-DR. Petitioners also contend that the Government 
of the Dominican Republic has acted unreasonably in denying 
compensation for the alleged expropriations. Petitioners further claim 
that the government of the Dominican Republic acted in a 
``discriminatory'' manner because Mr. Gadala Maria allegedly received 
less favorable treatment than other investors whose property allegedly 
was expropriated in 1961/62 at the end of the Trujillo regime.
    Pursuant to the advice of the interagency Section 301 Committee, 
the Trade Representative has determined not to initiate a Section 301 
investigation in response to the petition on three separate grounds. 
First, to the extent that the petition is alleging the expropriation of 
the property of the petitioners' father--Mr. Gadala Maria--the petition 
does not allege the expropriation of any property of a U.S. investor 
because, according to the petition, Mr. Gadala Maria was not a U.S. 
national. Second, USTR is not in a position to investigate events that 
occurred five decades ago--well before both the enactment of the Trade 
Act and the entry into force of the CAFTA-DR --and thus a Section 301 
investigation would not be effective in addressing the matters raised 
in the petition. Third, with regard to more recent acts, policies, and 
practices of the Dominican Republic that petitioners allege to breach 
the Dominican Republic's investment obligations under the CAFTA-DR, 
such allegations can be addressed more effectively and directly through 
Investor-State dispute resolution under Chapter Ten of the CAFTA-DR, 
which affords U.S. investors the right to pursue claims for resolution 
of Investor-State disputes without requiring intervention by the U.S. 
Government. The merits of any such claims would be determined by an 
international arbitration panel formed to hear the dispute.

William Busis,
Chair, Section 301 Committee.
[FR Doc. 2011-17807 Filed 7-14-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W1-P