Brazil, foreign direct investment
The Brazilian Cooperation and Facilitation Investment Agreement: Are Foreign Investors Protected?
Nathalie M-P Potin (Lyon Catholic University) and Camila Brito de Urquiza (Bank of Northeast - Brazilian Regional Development Bank)/ December 29, 2021 December 28, 2021 /Leave a comment
Brazil is an interesting actor in the field of investment-related treaties. For example, Brazil has been a major player when it comes to foreign direct investment ("FDI") outflows. This was not always the case. Brazilian outward foreign direct investment ("OFDI") was minor throughout the 1990s. However, after economic and institutional reforms, Brazilian companies became increasingly internationalized,…
foreign direct investment, Foreign Investment Law, Interview, Interviews with Our Editors, investor-State arbitration and mediation, ISDS, ISDS Reform
Interviews with Our Editors: Illuminating Investment Treaty Arbitration and Institutional Services with Antonio R. Parra, Former Deputy Secretary-General of the ICSID
Ylli Dautaj (Assistant Editor for Investment Arbitration) (Penn State Law) and Kiran Nasir Gore (Associate Editor) (The George Washington University Law School; Law Offices of Charles H. Camp)/ September 29, 2021 November 30, 2021 /Leave a comment
Antonio R. Parra led a lengthy and luminous career of international public service, having held various roles in the OPEC Fund and the World Bank. Of special interest to our readers is that from 1990 to 1999 Mr. Parra was Legal Adviser at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), and then from…
2020 In Review, BIT, Brexit, COVID-19, Due process, foreign direct investment, Human Rights, International agreement, Investment Arbitration, ISDS, ISDS Reform
2020 in Review: The Pandemic, Investment Treaty Arbitration, and Human Rights
Nicholas J. Diamond (Assistant Editor) (Georgetown Law) and Kabir A.N. Duggal (Columbia Law School)/ January 23, 2021 January 20, 2021 /Leave a comment
It will come as no surprise to the readers of this blog that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on international arbitration (see blog coverage here). In this post, we take a look back at 2020 to consider the intersection of the pandemic, investment, and human rights. In February 2020, one of…
foreign direct investment, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Treaties, Japan, VCLT, WTO
Global Trend of Tightening FDI Screening: A Race to Build Walls?
Tomoko Ishikawa (Nagoya University)/ August 27, 2020 August 28, 2020 /Leave a comment
Academic Council, Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)
The years since 2017 have witnessed a global trend of tightening foreign direct investment (FDI) screening processes. Major economies, including the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have moved towards stricter FDI rules. In all of these cases, security concerns and, in particular, the need to protect cutting-edge technologies against…
Appointment of arbitrators, BIT, Dutch Model BIT, foreign direct investment, ISDS, Party autonomy, Sustainability
The 2019 Dutch Model BIT: Its Remarkable Traits and the Impact on FDI
Marike R. P. Paulsson (Albright StoneBridge Group)/ May 18, 2020 May 15, 2020 /Leave a comment
On 22 March 2019, the Dutch Government released the text of the new model Netherlands BIT. Its idealism has been applauded: the new model prioritizes gender and regional diversity as well as the United Nations sustainability goals. Yet, what would the effect be of some of the model's provisions on Foreign Direct Investment ('FDI')? For…
Arbitration, foreign direct investment, Investment, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties
The Paradoxical Relationship between "Foreign Direct Investment Screening" and International Investment Law: What Role for Investor-State Arbitration?
Giacomo Rojas Elgueta, Benedetta Mauro (D|R Arbitration & Litigation)/ April 30, 2020 April 27, 2020 /Leave a comment
On March 25, the European Commission issued a set of guidelines addressed to Member States, concerning foreign direct investment (FDI) from third countries and the protection of European critical assets. In face of the current crisis caused by the outbreak of Covid-19, the European Commission calls upon Member States to make full use of their…
foreign direct investment, Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment protection, OECD
Determining Quality FDI: A Commentary on the OECD's "FDI Qualities Project"
Karl Sauvant (Columbia Law School)/ April 20, 2019 April 18, 2019 /Leave a comment
The OECD Secretariat launched, in 2018, a "FDI qualities project". Its objective is to provide governments with a tool kit to attract investment that contributes as much as possible to sustainable development. For that purpose, the project has identified five clusters of "FDI qualities indicators": productivity-innovation, skills, job quality, gender, and carbon footprint. These indicators…
Brazil, CFIA, Development, foreign direct investment, Investment agreements, Investment law, Latin America
Cooperation and Facilitation Investment Agreements in Brazil: The Path for Host State Development
Natali Cinelli Moreira (University of São Paulo, Institute of International Relations)/ September 13, 2018 September 12, 2018 /Leave a comment
Brazil has recently executed two new Cooperation and Facilitation Investment Agreements ("CFIAs") with the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia on April 11, 2018; and with the Republic of Suriname on May 2, 2018. These are, respectively, the 7th and the 8th CFIAs that Brazil has executed since 2015 (the former ones were executed with Chile,…
Energy, foreign direct investment, Foreign Investment Law, ICSID, Iraq, ISDS, Oil & Gas
Is Iraq Fully Open for Business? Not Yet, But Very Soon | Iraq Energy Conference 2018
Noor Kadhim (Armstrong Teasdale)/ April 7, 2018 April 14, 2018 /Leave a comment
The 4th Iraq Energy Forum (IEF), coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the Iraq Energy Institute, took place this year on 28-29 March at the Rasheed Royal Tulip Hotel. Politically and economically, the context of this IEF was important. The context was that the global reconstruction package in Kuwait had been agreed with the IMF and…
Announcement, Arab World, Arbitration, Enforcement, foreign direct investment, Iraq, New York Convention, World Bank
Finally, Iraq Says Yes to the New York Convention
Noor Kadhim (Armstrong Teasdale)/ March 13, 2018 April 8, 2018 /1 Comment
It has been on the cards for many years. But on 6 February 2018, days before the Kuwait reconstruction conference, the Iraqi cabinet officially agreed to endorse the ratification of New York Convention of 1958 and table it with Parliament. The decision finally to accede to the treaty coincides with the eradication of Da-esh…
What is Brazil Bringing to the Table? Dispute Prevention and Resolution under the Brazilian Agreements on Cooperation and Facilitation of Investments (ACFI)
Rabih A. Nasser, Nathalie S. Tiba Sato and Marina Y. Takitani (Nasser Sociedade de Advogados)/ July 11, 2017 June 27, 2017 /Leave a comment
For a long time, Brazil remained one of the few main economies without foreign investment agreements – in the 1990s, 14 Bilateral Investment Treaties ("BITs") were signed, but never ratified. This landscape began to change in 2015, with the emergence of the model Agreement on Cooperation and Facilitation of Investments ("ACFI"), promoted by the Brazilian…
Arbitration, ASEAN, Asia, Asia-Pacific, Australia, foreign direct investment, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Trans-Pacific Partnership
International Investment Arbitration Across Asia: A Symposium
Ana Ubilava (University of Sydney)/ March 1, 2017 March 18, 2017 /Leave a comment
Recent developments in the international investment scene have also impacted the Asian region. Notably, China and Southeast Asia have emerged not just as growing foreign direct investment (FDI) recipients but also as major sources of outbound FDI. In parallel, the Asian region experienced a proliferation in international investment agreements (IIAs). Asian countries were initially hesitant…
Arbitration, foreign direct investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, TPP, Trans-Pacific Partnership
TPP and Foreign Investment: Does ISDS Promote FDI?
Luke Nottage (University of Sydney & Williams Trade Law)/ October 14, 2016 October 13, 2016 /Leave a comment
The Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement, signed on 4 February 2016 among 12 Asia-Pacific economies, faces a rocky road to ratification. In the run-up to the US presidential election in November, both Donald Trump and (for now) Hillary Clinton say they are opposed. Yet Australian Prime Minister Turnbull urged President Obama to put the FTA to a vote in Congress…
Argentina, Awards, foreign direct investment, Investment Arbitration, Uncategorized
Is Argentina looking for reconciliation with ISDS?
Ezequiel Vetulli (Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer) and Emmanuel Kaufman (Knoetzl Haugeneder Netal Rechtsanwaelte GmbH)/ October 13, 2016 October 11, 2016 /1 Comment
For more than a decade, Argentina has been living in a permanent crisis, which affected all sectors of the economy and turned out in an avalanche of investment cases, many of them under the ICSID Convention. Thus, Argentina became one of the most active players in the investor-state dispute settlement system, facing almost 60 cases…