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investment | BITs

Obama trade document leaked, revealing new corporate powers and broken campaign promises
13-Jun-2012 Huffington Post
A critical document from President Barack Obama’s free trade negotiations with eight Pacific nations was leaked online early Wednesday morning, revealing that the administration intends to bestow radical new political powers upon multinational corporations, contradicting prior promises.
Kazakhstan wins the arbitration proceeding versus Caratube company
11-Jun-2012
On 5 June 2012 the arbitral tribunal of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) adopted the decision on the case initiated by Caratube International Oil Company LLP (CIOC) against the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Lone Star is back in town, armed with the investor-state dispute system

5-Jun-2012
In a May 31 press release, the US private equity fund Lone Star said it was planning to request investor state dispute (ISD) arbitration for losses suffered due to "unlawful" interference by the South Korean government.

Plain packaging risks lawsuits
21-May-2012
Smoking is bad for our health. Smoking is detrimental to our economic well-being - smoking-related conditions and diseases cost the health service in this country millions and millions of dollars each year. But moves to reduce or stop smoking in this country could cost us just as much if not more.
BIT of no use if FTA between Pakistan, US not signed
17-May-2012
The signing of Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) will not bear fruit without signing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and United States of America (USA).
Public interest groups issue strong critique of new US model bilateral investment treaty
15-May-2012
Representatives of public interest organizations have released a strong critique of the Obama administration’s new model bilateral investment treaty (BIT).
The treaty that could decide the Vodafone india tax case
11-May-2012 New York Times
As the British telecommunications company Vodafone Group and India’s finance ministry edge ever closer to a full-blown confrontation over taxes related to Vodafone’s $11.1 billion acquisition in India, a key issue may be the India-Netherlands Bilateral Investment Treaty, signed between the two governments in 1995.
Corporations win big in battle against investment regulation
7-May-2012 IPS
In a world where governments are increasingly subservient to global finance capital, multinationals are gaining ground in the fight against state regulations that aim to protect the environment, public health or social policies.
US Model BIT (2012)
7-May-2012 USTR
USTR and State complete three-year review and unveil 2012 model BIT
7-May-2012 Focus on Regulation
The State Department and the US Trade Representative (USTR) unveiled last week the new US Model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT)
Leading US official rules out renegotiation of free trade pact
4-May-2012
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler ruled out renegotiation of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement on Thursday, saying the deal had been in effect for just six weeks. Her comments foreshadowed a tough time for the Korean government’s efforts to revise the investor-state dispute settlement system under the accord.
The return of investment policy — The U.S. is back in the game
4-May-2012 Huffington Post
Foreign investment policy hasn’t been the main focus of the U.S. government in recent years. However, this may begin to change and industry leaders should not stay behind.
Argentina: Towards a possible new withdrawal from ICSID?
2-May-2012
As long as States, like Argentina and many others, accumulate a large amount of cases against them or obtain sistematically wrong results before ICSID arbitrators — which is the rule, with a very few exceptions — it is possible that the list of ICSID withdrawals will increase in the Americas.
Treaties that gave away the store
1-May-2012 The Hindu
As India grapples with the Vodafone and 2G fallout, the Bilateral Investment Treaties it signed a few years ago are coming back to haunt it.
Treaties that gave away the store
27-Apr-2012
As India grapples with the Vodafone and 2G fallout, the Bilateral Investment Treaties it signed a few years ago are coming back to haunt it.
EU’s De Gucht: Argentina Risks Jeopardizing Trade Ties
24-Apr-2012
The European Union has warned Argentina that it risks jeopardizing trade ties over Buenos Aires’ plans to expropriate a unit of Spanish oil company Repsol YPF SA (REP.MC) and impose a series of import restrictions and that Brussels stands ready to take retaliatory action.
Study investment provisions before an FTA says advocacy group
20-Apr-2012
The country should carefully study investment provisions before entering into foreign trade agreements (FTAs) as these may infringe on government’s regulatory power on foreign firms, an advocacy group on Friday said.
India plans to abolish ISD clause in FTAs
6-Apr-2012
India plans to abolish the investor-state dispute system and renegotiate FTAs with South Korea, Singapore, and other countries, an Indian newspaper reported.
Canada and China negotiate investment treaty
2-Apr-2012 Mondaq
On February 8, 2012, Canada and China signed a Declaration of Intent, signalling that the substantive negotiations between them on a bilateral investment treaty have come to a close. What do we know about this treaty?
’We can’t even manage to send a lemon to the US,’ CFK
1-Apr-2012
President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner questioned US president Barack Obama’s recent decision to suspend trade benefits for Argentina, while complaining that “we can’t even manage to get one of our lemons to enter the US market.”