Everyone is Talking about Investment

With the new model BIT in place, everyone is talking about investment.  First up, over at the Cato Institute, on May 17 they'll be talking about "investment protectionism and what to do about it":

Like international trade, cross-border direct investment drives economic growth. The value of cross-border investment flows has increased dramatically worldwide in response to liberalization of investment rules over the past couple of decades. But the trend toward liberalization has slowed, even reversed, in recent years. In April, the International Chamber of Commerce published the first revision in 40 years to its International Investment Guidelines, and the Obama administration published long-awaited revisions to its template for international investment agreements—the so-called model bilateral investment treaty. Will these developments help rein in investment protectionism. How will they influence cross-border investment flows? Can they help achieve the vaunted macroeconomic rebalancing?

Then on May 31, the DC Bar and ASIL will be holding an event specifically on the model BIT:

Jonathan (Josh) Kallmer, Deputy Assistant US Trade Representative for Investment, and Michael Tracton, Senior Negotiator for Investment Treaties, US State Department, will explain and discuss the newly revised US Model Bilateral Investment Treaty on May 31, 2012 at a lunch presentation.  ...