A couple months ago, I mentioned a new proposal for a Multilateral Investment Agreement. Axel Berger of the Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) has a skeptical response here. An excerpt:
The shortcomings of the current investment regime can be better dealt with in the context of regional negotiations; these should, however, be accompanied by a political dialogue on the global level.
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The G-20 is the natural candidate to be the initiator of a concomitant process of coordination. The G-20 comprises not only the industrialised countries but also the most important of the emerging countries and takes into account – even though inadequately up to now – the interests of the developing countries via the participation of regional organisations such as the African Union. Orchestrated by the G-20, these discussions should be conducted with the inclusion of international organisations like the OECD, the WTO, and UNCTAD, along with that of business and civil society stakeholders.
The discussions should include new topics that have not been dealt with in IIAs. In particular, the discussions should include the balance between liberalisation and regulation of investment policies, the financial incentives of host countries, the investments of state-owned companies, the integration of voluntary sustainability standards, and the consolidation of the existing system of bilateral IIAs. In view of the current dynamic changes in the investment, these processes should be set in motion as quickly as possible.
