International Investment Policy Research Articles

An NLP-based novel approach for assessing national influence in clause dissemination across bilateral investment treaties.

International investment agreements (IIAs) promote foreign investment. However, they can undermine crucial health programs, creating a dilemma for governments between corporate and public health interests. For this reason, including clauses that safeguard health has become an essential practice in IIAs. According to the current literature, some countries have played a pivotal role in leading this inclusion, while others follow the former ones. However, the existing literature needs a unique approach that can quantify the influence strength of a country in disseminating clauses that explicitly mention health provisions to others. Following an NLP (Natural Language Processing)-based text similarity analysis of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), this study proposes a metric, 'Influence' (INF), which provides insights into the role of different countries or regions in the propagation of IIA texts among BITs. We demonstrate a comprehensive application of this metric using a large agreement dataset. Our findings from this application corroborate the evidence in the current literature, supporting the validity of the proposed metric. According to the INF, Germany, Canada, and Brazil emerged as the most influential players in defensive, neutral, and offensive health mentions, respectively. These countries wield substantial bargaining power in international investment law and policy, and their innovative approaches to BITs set a path for others to follow. These countries provide crucial insights into the direction and sources of influence of international investment regulations to safeguard health. The proposed metric holds substantial usage for policymakers and investors. This can help them identify vital global countries in IIA text dissemination and create new policy guidelines to safeguard health while balancing economic development and public health protection. A software tool based on the proposed INF measure can be found at https://inftool.com/.

The Evolving Role of the European Union in International Investment Policy Reforms: Challenges, Achievements, and Future Directions

The Evolving Role of the European Union in International Investment Policy Reforms: Challenges, Achievements, and Future Directions

Indian International Trade, Foreign Investment and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): A Review

India, as a rapidly emerging economic powerhouse, plays a significant role in the global trade and investment landscape. The country's trade and investment policies have profound implications for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Indian international trade and investment policies play a crucial role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined by the United Nations. This research article delves into the implications of India's trade and investment policies on the attainment of the SDGs. The research paper enlightens the essence of policies that affect economic growth, environmental sustainability, and social development. Through an in-depth analysis, this article sheds light on the opportunities and challenges that India faces in aligning its trade and investment strategies with the SDGs. The findings underscore the need for a more coherent and integrated approach to ensure that trade and investment policies positively contribute to sustainable development. The country's trade and investment policies have both positive and negative implications for SDGs. Through a comprehensive analysis of relevant literature and data, this article sheds light on the ways in which India's economic activities influence progress toward achieving the SDGs.

Multilateral Economic Ties of Mongolia with its Asian Trading Partners in period of 2011-2021

This article gives insight of main aspects of Mongolian’s economy related to its Asian Trading Partners namely China, India, South Korea and Japan in period of 2011-2021. To give more clarity about the main trading partners of Mongolia there are two countries: China and Russia, but the author focuses only on the Asian trading partners. The main goal is to popularise still not well known economy of Mongolia and to see how it was developed in analysed period of 2011-2022. As the methodology of the research the author used empirical analysis based mainly on Macrobond data which also has access to Mongolian Statistics Office data and also to available world reports such OECD, UNCTAD. Besides that, the article was consulted with Mongolian Ambassador in Poland and it was enriched this way with his best knowledge regarding economy and Mongolia international trade and investment policy. The interesting aspect which was raised by the author in this article was the future state of economy of Mongolia after pandemic of SARSCoV-2 and impact of the restrictions imposed on Russia due to the war on Ukraine

INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES BETWEEN UKRAINE AND THE EUROPEAN UNION

The article examines approaches to the study of international investment policy in Ukraine and ways of further cooperation with the European Union. The main approaches are shown in the genesis of this problem. It is emphasized that the modern conduct of international investment activity is closely related to the state programs of Ukraine, the EU and the countries of the world as a whole. Separate areas of international investment support are substantiated. At the same time, it is believed that European investment support is an important tool for sustainable development of the state and ensuring its food security. However, in modern conditions, the issue of the organization of investment support for the country’s economy requires a new approach, improvement of the considered support programs through active measures at the state level, introduction of new financial and credit structures. It is emphasized that during the organization and conduct of close cooperation between Ukraine and the EU, as well as during the development of measures to improve the organizational and economic mechanism of investment activity, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the investment climate, without which it is impossible to achieve a high level of the country’s economic potential.

Investment Facilitation for Development and the Reform of International Investment Dispute Settlement Mechanism: The Choice of Developing Countries

ABSTRACT The trend of ‘investment facilitation’ is increasingly attracting lively discussions in the field of international investment policies. The reason for this is that countries expect to use ‘investment facilitation’ as a policy tool to improve the domestic investment environment. In this trend, as an important part of the realization path of ‘investment facilitation’, there is an increasing concern on how to reform the international investment dispute settlement mechanism to achieve amicable settlement of investment frictions between investors and host states. China, Brazil and South Africa have proposed three different options for reforming the international investment dispute settlement mechanism under the trend of ‘investment facilitation’. Based on the analysis of the three countries’ dispute settlement mechanism reform models, this article examines their impact on the international investment governance mechanism and finally proposes inspirations for the design and reform of future international investment dispute settlement models in developing countries.

Avoid opening up the Pandora’s box: treaty parallelism, termination and survival in the reform of the China–EU investment regime

ABSTRACT The Draft CAI leaves issues pertaining to investment protection and Investor-State Dispute Settlement under future discussion, while acknowledging the effectiveness of previous BITs between China and 26 EU Member States for at least two years after the CAI has been ratified. It is of great significance to clarify the treaty relationships within the China–EU investment regime, which will heavily affect the efforts on investment treaty modernization, and profoundly impact the international investment policy landscape. In the context of treaty parallelism, the Pandora’s box, with multiple issues including but not limited to normative overlaps and contradictions, jurisdiction overlaps and contradictions, might be opened up. Moreover, survival clauses in the previous BITs and the transitional clause in the CAI need to be taken into account to ensure an effective and smooth transition from the previous BITs to the modernized CAI. By examining relevant options for addressing problems regarding treaty parallelism, treaty termination and treaty survival, this paper offers potential choices for the reform of the China–EU investment regime.

Concluding International Investment-Related Agreements with Non-EU Countries: Roles of the EU and Its Member States

The 2009 Lisbon Treaty has added an important exclusive competence for the European Union (EU) in the common commercial policy area, namely, foreign direct investment, thus making it a crucial actor in international investment protection. This has a huge impact on shaping international investment policy in Europe and has raised important questions, especially regarding the legal consequences of the EU’s exclusive competence in the negotiation process of international investment agreements (IIAs) with third countries. This article explores the role of the EU and its member states in negotiating and concluding IIAs with third countries. In the first part, the article illustrates when individual member states are authorized to conclude a new bilateral investment treaty with a third country, with a focus on the EU´s Regulation No 1219/2012 and its implementation. In the second part, the article questions what it means for the EU and its member states to conclude investment mixed agreements with third countries, how the negotiation processes are conducted, and what is the impact of the division of competences between the EU and its member states. The final part of the article shows the current issues of ius standi and financial responsibility in investment dispute settlement involving foreign investors, with a focus on the EU´s Regulation No 912/2014 and the negotiation processes of the EU with third countries.

Deforestation as a Systemic Risk: The Case of Brazilian Bovine Leather

Tropical deforestation and forest degradation driven by agricultural commodity production remains one of the important sustainability challenges of our times. The responses to tropical deforestation so far have not managed to reverse global trends of forest loss, reigniting the discussion about more robust and systemic measures. The concept of deforestation risk is highly relevant for current debates about policy and trade, and likely to increase in importance in the context of the proposed EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products and EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement. We argue that deforestation is a systemic risk that permeates through different economic sectors, including production, manufacturing, service and control sectors. International trade, investment and economic policies thus act as a systemic trap that cause the production sector to continue with nature’s destruction. This article seeks to more clearly define deforestation risk and uses the case of bovine leather from Brazil to illustrate how pressures for deforestation accumulate across economic sectors towards production, while deforestation risk is dispersed in an opposite trajectory. The article draws on multiple datasets and an extensive literature review. Included are quantitative data sources on annual slaughter, bovine hide/leather registry and annual deforestation, slaughterhouse and tannery locations. We argue that the EU banning unsustainable products from entry and putting incentives for more sustainable agricultural production in the tropics addresses deforestation risks that are currently visible and relatively easy to identify. These response mechanisms are conditioned upon traceability of deforestation risk across supply chains, which is prone to falsifications, leakage and laundry. Although proven to be essential, the proposed EU responses still miss out deeper leverage points to address the systemic drivers of deforestation coming from the manufacturing, service and control sectors that make production through deforestation profitable in the first place.

Scoping the impact of the Comprehensive Agreement on investment: liberalization, protection, and dispute resolution in the next era of EU–China relations

ABSTRACT Ensuing the commencement of bilateral EU–China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) negotiations in 2014, European Union (EU) took seven years to confirm the agreement ‘in principle’. The finalization of the agreement owing to politicization will take time. However, both EU and China have committed to conclude the awaiting negotiations on investment protection and investment dispute settlement by the first half of 2022. EU's main objective is replacing bilateral investment treaties (BITs) between China and its own individual Member States. The article confers a first comprehensive analysis of CAI with advancing EU's international investment policy. It further analyzes the CAI provisions in light of both, pre-existing BITs between EU Member States and China and the EU-Vietnam FTA investment chapter. The comprehensive analysis helps to apprehend CAI's influence on the global regime for investment concerning investment liberalization, investment protection, and investment dispute resolution.

International Investment Policy and the Coming Wave of Data-Flow Disputes

The ability to move digital data internationally has become an asset to countless businesses. Yet an increasing number of countries’ data regulations hinder these cross-border data flows. As such, many have speculated that companies could protect their interests in data flows through international investment law, a regime that lets companies sue foreign governments for harm to private assets. Yet the literature has largely been cursory or equivocal about these suits’ likely success. This Article argues that, under current law, such suits have a strong—if not unassailable—legal basis. Critically, the reality of global data regulation and digital commerce means such suits are only likely to arise in specific contexts. In those contexts, a close reading of the current law reveals that companies will have well-grounded arguments under the treaties, caselaw, and policy of today’s investment regime. The regime’s history also bodes well for them. The real viability of these suits has counterintuitive, opposing implications. On the one hand, such suits could bolster the resilience of—and even catalyze—beneficial domestic and international data regulation by solidifying emerging legal norms. On the other, they could deter countries from adopting such regulation. This negative effect results from the risk that international investment law, by superintending data regulation, will become a form of data regulation itself. To prevent this regulatory spillover, investment tribunals in data-flows cases should reinvigorate a longstanding but neglected tool in the international-investment caselaw: the Salini test. A binding application of Salini in data-flows cases can preserve international investment law’s ability to strengthen beneficial data regulation while ensuring the investment regime remains centered on its economic domain: capital flows—not data flows.

Improving the distribution of FDI benefits: The need for policy-oriented research, advice, and advocacy

This article explores the different ways in which governments can increase the benefits of FDI and manage the relationship between governments and international investors in a mutually beneficial manner. It focusses on three concrete policy fields in which discussions are afoot that bear on this issue, and where opportunities to exercise influence exist: encouraging more sustainable FDI; enhancing the distribution of benefits associated with FDI; and anchoring sustainable FDI, corporate social responsibility, and responsible business conduct in the international investment law and policy regime and, specifically, in the context of the negotiations of an Investment Facilitation Framework for Development at the WTO. These are examples of policy areas that warrant attention, with a view toward scholars seeking to influence the way in which they are tackled, through applied multidisciplinary policy-oriented research, concrete recommendations, and targeted advocacy.

The effects of the Eurasian Economic Union on regional foreign direct investment and implications for growth

The positive direct and indirect spillover effects of foreign direct investment on growth are often case specific and not necessarily uniform nor easily predicted. Effects of FDI due to international investment policy changes are often confounded by free trade and customs union agreements that occur simultaneously because trade may be a complement to or substitute for FDI. We review the effects of regional trade agreements on FDI and focus on the new Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). With annual data from 1995 to 2019 for post-Soviet countries, three members, the Russian Federation, Belarus, and Kazakhstan and nine non-members, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, we estimate the EAEU integration effect on country FDI flows, post-2010. We control for other determinants, including infrastructure development, natural resource rents, potentially confounding trade flows, the financial crisis, sanctions against Russia and country fixed effects. The formation of the EAEU did not stimulate FDI and while GDP grew it was not associated with higher FDI. Further growth opportunities via FDI lie with relationships with countries outside the EAEU.

Investment and Human Rights in the Shadow of the Pandemic: Recent Developments in 2020

The debate on human rights and investment law has markedly developed since Markus Krajewski wrote the first overview on recent trends in arbitration and treaty-making for the Yearbook of International Investment Law & Policy in 2017. In 2020, the investment and human rights nexus has not only been discussed by critical scholars, and general international law journals, but also in fora of the investment law community. Yet, the mainstreaming of human rights into investment law and arbitration has so far not led to a systematic realignment of human rights and investment law. In this chapter, I will investigate recent developments in the relationship between investment and human rights. This includes both newly registered and concluded cases in investor-state arbitration and new investment agreements, as well as broader developments and political discussions in the field of business and human rights. Ultimately, all those developments are eclipsed by the emergent conflict between investment and human rights obligations arising out of the management of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is why this chapter closes with a snapshot of the current debate.

Investing in the Sustainable Development Goals: Mobilization, channeling, and impact

Global investment in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is falling short of the target to close the $2.5 trillion annual financing gap for developing countries. The COVID-19 shock has exacerbated existing constraints for the SDGs and may undo the progress made in he last 6 years in SDG investment. This poses a risk to delivering on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This paper assesses the global trends in both investing in and financing the SDGs, including the myriad of financing instruments launched to respond to the COVID-19 health crisis and its economic and social impacts. It analyses the main challenges for mobilizing funds, channeling investment into SDG sectors, and maximizing positive impact, as well as regulatory dilemmas in promoting SDG investment. The article then elaborates on a set of policy measures for accelerating investment in the SDGs, including four principles for guiding private sector investment, mainstreaming the SDGs into national and international investment policies and promotion strategies, harnessing financial instruments for sustainable development, building special SDGs model zones, and promoting better ESG standards, compliance, and reporting.

International Investment Policy and the Coming Wave of Data-Flow Disputes

International Investment Policy and the Coming Wave of Data-Flow Disputes

More Attention to Policies! Improving the Distribution of FDI Benefits: The Need for Policy-Oriented Research, Advice and Advocacy

This article explores different ways in which governments can increase the benefits of FDI and manage the relationship between governments and international investors in a mutually beneficial manner. It focusses on three concrete policy fields in which discussions are afoot that bear on this issue, and where opportunities to exercise influence exist: encouraging more sustainable FDI; enhancing the distribution of benefits associated with FDI; and anchoring sustainable FDI, corporate social responsibility and responsible business conduct in the international investment law and policy regime and, specifically, in the context of the negotiations of an Investment Facilitation Framework for Development at the WTO. These are examples of policy areas that warrant attention, with a view toward scholars seeking to influence the way in which they are tackled, through applied multidisciplinary policy-oriented research, concrete recommendations and targeted advocacy.

Conceptual Provisions of the Adaptability of Microfinance Organizations for Entrepreneurship in the Context of the Limited Economy of Russia

Changes in the world order, political and economic events of modern times reveal relevant aspects for the development of financial instruments. The interest shown in microfinance organizations is determined by the socio-economic realities of the country: the urgent need to revive entrepreneurship, internal competition, adaptation to the market in a limited economy. In this connection, the considered conceptual provisions are aimed at prompt response to deviations from the normal activities of entrepreneurship. There was a need for changes in international and national investment policy on the way to a real network development methodology: from a coordinated structure of relations to more and more legally binding decisions of all participating countries. Investments are dispersed. In this regard, the development of methodological aspects, the design of a roadmap, taking into account recommendations for the formation of an operating model and a business model within the framework of MFO activities, seems to be very relevant.

Analysis of Factors Affecting Chinese Outward Foreign Direct Investment: An Empirical Study Based on Stochastic Frontier Model

This paper uses panel data of 20 target countries of China’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) from 2011-2019 to establish a stochastic frontier gravity model to study the influencing factors of China’s OFDI and to define and measure the investment potential by summarizing and generalizing the relevant literature. The results show that: Chinese GDP, host country GDP, host country trade openness, host country government governance capacity, and host country intellectual property protection level are positively correlated with Chinese OFDI; national investment guidance policies have a very obvious positive effect on the growth of Chinese outward investment. In the post-epidemic era, in order to promote the development of Chinese OFDI and fully exploit the potential of Chinese OFDI, we should strengthen macro and micro regulation to ensure a stable and high-quality economic development, actively introduce national investment policies to cope with changes in the international investment policy environment, optimize the investment industry structure, and avoid investment risks.

ТРАНСФОРМАЦИЯ ВНЕШНЕТОРГОВОЙ ПОЛИТИКИ НА ФОНЕ ПАНДЕМИИ COVID-19

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has seriously affected the international investment policies of the G20 countries. There has been a growing trend to introduce measures with reference to the protection of national security aiming at countering threats that may be associated with foreign investment. Given the role of international investment in alleviating the economic crisis, governments should continue to improve the investment climate while protecting their national security interests.