Cite as: 507 U. S. 349 (1993)
Stevens, J., dissenting
Whether the first clause of § 1605(a)(2) broadly authorizes "general" jurisdiction over foreign entities that engage in substantial commercial activity in this country, or, more narrowly, authorizes only "specific" jurisdiction over particular commercial claims that have a substantial contact with the United States,3 petitioners' contacts with the United States in this case are, in my view, plainly sufficient to subject petitioners to suit in this country on a claim arising out of their nonimmune commercial activity relating to respondent. If the same activities had been performed by a private business, I have no doubt jurisdiction would be upheld. And that, of course, should be a touchstone of our inquiry; for as Justice White explains, ante, at 366, n. 2, and 368-369, when a foreign nation sheds its uniquely sovereign status and seeks out the benefits of the private marketplace, it must, like any private party, bear the burdens and responsibilities imposed by that marketplace. I would therefore affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals.4
3 Though this case does not require resolution of that question (because petitioners' contacts with the United States satisfy, in my view, the more narrow requirements of "specific" jurisdiction), I am inclined to agree with the view expressed by Judge Higginbotham in his separate opinion in Vencedora Oceanica Navigacion, S. A. v. Compagnie Nationale Alger-ienne de Navigation, 730 F. 2d 195, 204-205 (1984) (concurring in part and dissenting in part), that the first clause of § 1605(a)(2), interpreted in light of the relevant legislative history and the second and third clauses of the provision, does authorize "general" jurisdiction over foreign entities that engage in substantial commercial activities in the United States.
4 My affirmance would extend to respondents' failure to warn claims. I am therefore in agreement with Justice Kennedy's analysis of that aspect of the case.
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