Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Corporación Cimex, S. A. (Cuba) · ¶37

The second, the expropriation exception, allows suits against foreign sovereigns, including their agencies and instrumentalities, when property rights “taken in violation of international law are in issue”; the property “is owned or operated by an agency or instrumentality” of the expropriating sovereign; and the agency or instrumentality “is engaged in a commercial activity in the United States.” §1605(a)(3). We will also come back to that exception below; for now, note that it requires a plaintiff to show that the foreign agency or instrumentality is engaged in a commercial activity in the United States.

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