A Pacific Basin Investment Agreement

Abstract

Economic integration in the Pacific is usually discussed in the context of trade. However, the rapid growth of investment in the region suggests that capital flows could serve as an important integrating force. Investment policies in each of the region's economies have evolved separately with few bilateral investment treaties among the region's members and no regional or multilateral agreements to harmonize policies and ensure that benefits are shared equitably by home and host countries. The time is ripe for a region-wide investment agree ment that covers expropriation, national treatment, right of establishment, performance requirements, investment incentives, and provides a dispute resolution mechanism. The Asia Pacific Investment Code, recently drafted by the Pacific Economic Co-operation Council's Trade Policy Forum, provides a non-binding set of recommendations that could lead to better regional harmonization of investment rules in the Pacific. The Code could serve as the first step towards a more binding set of rules.