International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Investor-State Arbitration

93 posts

The Trucking Dispute: Not Just About Trade Anymore

The Trucking Dispute is now a NAFTA Chapter 11 investment dispute as well: After nearly two years of resisting the opening of the U.S.-Mexico border to long-haul trucking operations, the Mexican motor carrier association now is taking the U.S. to “NAFTA court.” Canacar filed a Notice of

Free Book Chapter on the History of Investment Treaty Law

New from Andrew Newcombe, Law and Practice of Investment Treaties: Standards of Treatment, co-authored with Lluís Paradell. The first chapter (a 73 page in-depth treatment of the historical development of investment treaty law) is available for free here: http://ita.law.uvic.ca/documents/NewcombeandParadellLawandPracticeofInvestmentTreaties-Chapter1.pdf

Investment Treaty Empiricism

Over at Opinio Juris, Susan Franck talks about empiricism and international law, with a focus on investment treaty decisions, noting the differences between the rhetoric and the reality of investment treaty decisions. David Zaring offers some comments.

Expropriation Standards in Investment Rules

From the previously mentioned Norwegian draft model BIT (MS Word document) that reader Perry Bechky pointed me to: ARTICLE [6]: EXPROPRIATION 1. A Party shall not expropriate or nationalise an investment of an investor of the other Party except in the public interest and subject to the conditions provided for

Possible New Investment Treaty Rules for Non-Discrimination

From a Norwegian draft model BIT (MS Word document) that reader Perry Bechky pointed me to: Article 3: NATIONAL TREATMENT 1. Each Party shall accord to investors of the other Party and to their investments, treatment no less favourable than the treatment it accords in like circumstances[FN2] to its

The Democratic Candidates on Investment Rules

Here are some statements from the Democratic candidates on investment rules in trade agreements, from responses to questions from the Pennsylvania Fair Trade Coalition (answers are in italics). Obama: 9. Will you commit to renegotiate NAFTA to eliminate its investor rules that allow private enforcement by foreign investors of these

Thea Lee on NAFTA Chapter 11

I've been intrigued with the brief mentions of investor-state arbitration during the Presidential campaign. Here is something on this subject from Thea Lee, policy director for the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO): The NAFTA investment chapter should also be revisited. NAFTA was the

Investor-State Arbitration and the U.S. Presidential Campaign

From Alan Beattie in the FT: Amid the noisy battering the North American Free Trade Agreement is taking from both Democratic presidential hopefuls, one recent statement from Hillary Clinton was particularly resonant. “We will have a very clear view of how we’re going to review Nafta ,” the New York

Obama/Clinton: "Opt Out Of" Or "Re-negotiate" NAFTA

I was just watching the Obama-Clinton debate in Ohio. Most of the trade stuff was boilerplate, but one point jumped out at me. Both Obama and Clinton stated explicitly that they will "opt out" of NAFTA unless the governments of Canada and Mexico agree to re-negotiate the agreement.

Investment Protection for Whom?

Aren't investment protection rules designed to protect investments by Western companies in developing countries? That may have been the original idea, but now the situation seems more complicated: With Indian firms investing aggressively in the US, India has put on fast track negotiations on signing an investment protection