investment | BITs
Notwithstanding substantial doubts that increased FDI and economic growth are not automatically linked and that investments agreements may be less important in attracting FDI than other economic and socio-political framework conditions, the proliferation of bilateral
investments agreements (BITs) goes ahead unrestrained.
In order to increase and improve trade union participation in trade agreements an online discussion was organised in March 2005, over 4 weeks, which considered the involvement of trade unions in trade agreements, the role they play and the influence they have on the final outcome of trade agreements.
The Indonesian government expects Japan’s investment and the value of export by Japanese companies in Indonesia to double in the coming five years, as the first-round negotiation between the Indonesian and Japanese governments on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) has run smoothly.
Under the guise of freeing trade, bilateral trade agreements (BTAs) are being used as a tool to further an absolute top-down Northern agenda, at the victimization of the poor and marginalized groups and communities of the South.
FTAs are being designed by the developed countries to get more than what the WTO and TRIPS could give at this stage.
Japan, China and South Korea agreed Friday they will aim to conclude in late November talks to explore a trilateral legal framework for investment, as they failed to do so during the latest meeting in Tokyo, Japanese officials said.
World Investment Report 2005, by UNCTAD, presents the latest trends in foreign direct investment and explores the internationalization of research and development by transnational corporations along with the development implications of this phenomenon.
Australia and Indonesia bolstered trading ties today, which could support efforts by Canberra and Wellington to forge a free trade agreement with ASEAN.
The past year saw a further proliferation of international investment agreements (IIAs) at the bilateral, regional, inter-regional, and plurilateral levels. On average, more than three such agreements were signed per week.
I don’t know that the result of the recent FTAs’ will be a tragedy because the end is quite open. But we should not deny the new version of the Korea-U.S. BIT. The 2004 BIT is included unchanged in the American FTA text.
The Asian Regional Workshop on Bilateral Free Trade Agreements was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 26-28 August 2005. It was organized by the Third World Network and attended by about 120 participants from many Asian countries.
On liberalising services and investment, Thailand insists on adopting a "positive list" approach, where only those sectors explicitly outlined in the agreement would be opened. The US insists on a "negative list", under which all sectors are on the table except those listed as sensitive.
South Korea will treat foreign and local investors on equal terms, dispelling concerns that the Korean government would get tough on foreign companies and funds operating here by tax audits and regulation changes, according to the nation’s top economic policymaker.
The European Union wants India to extend similar capital gains tax benefits to its investments in the country as is given to Singapore.
This booklet by FTA Watch is aimed at disseminating information to international
civil society for the purpose of sharing the analyses and experience of the
FTA struggle in Thailand.
Netherlands-based Mittal Steel, disqualified from the Vítkovice Steel privatization, says that in late September it will launch international arbitration against the Czech state.
On 1 September 2005, Mr. Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister of Japan and Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand met in Tokyo to jointly announce that agreement in principle has been reached between the Japanese side and the Thai side on all major elements of the Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement, on the basis of a series of negotiations since February 2004.
Of late, there has been an outbreak of activism in the realm of bilateral free trade and investment agreements across the world. Many developing countries have found themselves swept off by the wave of bilateralism, not realizing it only weakens the cause of multilateralism.
Negotiations on bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) are going on at a blazing speed worldwide. Not much is known on how these talks are going. But they have a lot of effects on local industries and farms, on medicine prices and on what can be included in future development strategies.
Pakistan has asked the United States to sign the proposed Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) by dropping its demand that in case of an arbitration only the Washington based International Centre for Settlement of Disputes (ICSID) should be approached for a decision.
