1. Improving the International Investment Regime: priorities for the new U.S. Administration
- Author:
- Pablo M. Pinto, Karl P. Sauvant, Petros C. Mavroidis, Curtis J. Milhaupt, Peter Rosenblum, and Hans Smit
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- The international investment regime has grown rapidly over the past two decades, along with foreign direct investment (FDI) flows, which reached $1.8 trillion in 2007. Even in the absence of a single comprehensive multilateral investment treaty or institution, that regime is governed by principles and rules enshrined in some 2,600 bilateral investment treaties and another 250 free trade agreements that contain substantial investment provisions. These treaties are supplemented by a number of other relevant multilateral agreements and customary international law, along with complementary principles applied by international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, that cover aspects of the activities of multinational enterprises as well as how states regulate them.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- United States