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investment | BITs

India agrees to negotiate bilateral investment treaty with US
15-Jul-2013 Hindustan Times
India told the US on Friday it was ready to negotiate a Bilateral Investment Treaty, knocking down yet another irritant bedeviling business ties between the two countries.
USA et Chine d’accord pour négocier un traité d’investissements
12-Jul-2013 Reuters
Les Etats-Unis et la Chine sont tombés d’accord pour relancer les négociations sur un traité d’investissements, suspendues depuis plusieurs années en raison de l’insistance de Pékin à exclure certains secteurs des discussions.
EU, Canada approach to investment could have mixed impact on US talks
11-Jul-2013 Inside US Trade
A confidential text on the investment provisions of the Canada-European Union free trade agreement (CETA) shows that the two parties have broken new ground in defining the key concept of fair and equitable treatment for investors.
Treaty disputes roiled by bias charges
10-Jul-2013
Concerns about objectivity and accountability of investment dispute arbitrators have prompted calls for tougher ethical guidelines as caseloads have exploded.
Complex trade pacts promote land grabs
2-Jul-2013 The Guardian
Multiplicity of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and free trade agreements (FTAs) leave room for some investors to take advantage of African resources, it has been asserted at a CUTS meeting in Geneva last week
Investment agreements: A new threat to health and TRIPS flexibilities?
30-Jun-2013 South Centre
Bilateral investment treaties (BITs) may be a threat to access to medicines as shown by a recent legal suit by a drug multinational against Canada for invalidating a patent, writes Carlos Correa
Mozambique and Japan pen investment treaty
28-Jun-2013 This is Africa
Japan signs its first bilateral investment treaty with a sub-Saharan African country, aimed at increased Japanese investment flows into Mozambique’s infrastructure, agriculture and agri-processing and sectors.
John Kerry in India, pushes for bilateral investment treaty
25-Jun-2013 PTI
Setting the tone for the 4th round of Indo-US strategic dialogue taking place in New Delhi, US Secretary of State John Kerry pushed for a bilateral investment treaty to ’bolster’ investor confidence in India and expressed concerns over trade barriers.
The rise of regionalism in international investment policymaking: consolidation or complexity?
14-Jun-2013 UNCTAD
A recent UNCTAD analysis of nine selected regional negotiations has found that, were these to lead to agreements, they could replace close to 10 per cent of today’s bilateral investment treaties (BITs).
A transatlantic corporate bill of rights
12-Jun-2013 A transatlantic corporate bill of rights
Leaked draft versions of the EU negotiating mandate for a far-reaching free trade agreement with the US reveal the European Commission’s plans to enshrine more powers for corporations in the deal. The proposal follows a persistent campaign by industry lobby groups and law firms to empower large companies to challenge regulations both at home and abroad if they affect their profits.
EU trade chief to seek investment pact with China
27-May-2013 SMCP
The European Commission will seek the support of EU governments to launch talks with China on an investment pact that could be a precursor to a free-trade deal if Brussels and Beijing can overcome growing tensions.
UAE and India to conclude Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement soon
27-May-2013 Gulf News
The UAE and India have agreed in principle to start negotiation on Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement and conclude it at the earliest during Indian Finance Minister P.Chidamabaram’s official UAE visit yesterday, a top Indian diplomat told Gulf News yesterday.
Unfair, unsustainable, and under the radar
26-May-2013 Democracy Center
A new paper from the Democracy Center sheds an urgent public light on the system of international investment rules and arbitration tribunals that is being used by corporations to undermine citizen and government action on a range of urgent social and environmental issues.
Reko Diq finally abandoned by Canadians, TCC
10-May-2013
Tethyan Copper Company (TCC), a joint venture between Canada’s Barrick Gold and Chilean miner Antofagasta, has given up hope of eventually mining Reko Diq, a disputed but promising copper-gold project in Pakistan’s poorest region, Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday.
Treaty-based disputes between investors, states on the rise, says Unctad
7-May-2013
Dispute settlements between investors and states saw 62 new cases initiated last year, the highest number of known treaty-based disputes filed in a year, according to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) in March.
International investment agreements report from CRS
6-May-2013 Secrecy News
“Presently, there are over 3,000 BITs globally. The United States has concluded 47 BITs, 41 of which have entered into force.” These treaties were tabulated by CRS and presented along with other little-known data on the subject in "US International Investment Agreements: Issues for Congress", April 29, 2013.
Investors’ IP rights unbound: The danger of investment clauses to access to medicines
25-Apr-2013 Infojustice
Although access to medicines activists have been wise to focus our attention intently on convincing low- and middle-income countries to adopt and use all possible TRIPS-compliant flexibilities and to oppose the TRIPS-plus IP chapters in free trade agreements, we have neglected to interrogate another chapter in free trade agreements and bilateral investment treaties that perhaps pose an even greater threat to our collective access to medicines – investment chapters.
Treaty-based disputes between investors, states on the rise, says Unctad
18-Apr-2013 Business Day
Dispute settlements between investors and states saw 62 new cases initiated last year, the highest number of known treaty-based disputes filed in a year, according to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad)
BIT claim brought against Turkmenistan following UN finding of human rights violations
15-Apr-2013 Lexology
Following a decision of the United Nations Human Rights Committee (“UNHRC“) in 2010 that a Turkish businessman had suffered violations of his human rights after being illegally convicted of economic crimes, a claim for compensation is now being pursued under the Turkey-Turkmenistan bilateral investment treaty (“BIT“). This case therefore highlights the interesting interaction between the human rights and investment protection regimes.
Canada strengthens its ties with Africa by concluding negotiations of bilateral investment treaties
10-Apr-2013 Lexology
On March 4, 2013, the Minister of International Trade of Canada announced the conclusion of the negotiations of Bilateral Investment Treaties with Cameroon and Zambia — home of iron ore, copper and other mineral deposits.