The bilateral investment treaty program of the united states

BITs provide for the transferability of investment-related funds into and out of a host country without delay and using a market rate of exchange. BITs restrict the imposition of performance requirements, such as local content targets or export quotas, as a condition for the establishment, acquisition, expansion, management, conduct, or operation of an investment.

BITs give covered investors the right to engage the top managerial personnel of their choice, regardless of nationality. BITs give investors from each party the right to submit an investment dispute with the government of the other party to international arbitration. There is no requirement to use that country's domestic courts.

For further information on the BIT program, contact the bilateral investment treaty coordinators at the Office of the U. The following are the main benefits that are offered to U. National and MFN Treatment. BITs oblige each Party to the Treaty to treat investors from the other Party as well as it treats domestic investors in like circumstances national treatment , or as well as it treats any other foreign investor in like circumstances most favored nation or MFN treatment , whichever is better.

These exceptions are specified in a protocol or annex to the Treaty. For example, air transportation, banking, insurance, broadcasting and the provision of common carrier telephone services were some of the exceptions made by the U. Air transportation, uranium mining, insurance and fishing were among the exceptions made by Argentina. Investors should consult the full text of the BIT with the country where they plan to make their investment to determine whether sectors in which they have an interest have been exempted from national or MFN treatment.

They should also consult with local experts to determine whether restrictions on foreign investment exist within certain sectors. Bilateral Investment Treaties provide clear limits on the ability of a country to expropriate an investment.

They state that expropriation must be for a public purpose. It must be carried out in a non-discriminatory manner, consistent with international law. Parties to a BIT are obliged to pay prompt, adequate, and effective compensation in the event of an expropriation. BITs guarantee investors the right to transfer funds into and out of the host country, without delay, in a freely usable currency using a market rate of exchange. This guarantee covers all transfers related to an investment, including interest, proceeds from liquidation, repatriated profits and infusions of additional financial resources after the initial investment has been made.

Performance Requirements. BITs limit the ability of host governments to impose performance requirements as conditions for establishing or maintaining an investment. The scope of these provisions has widened in more recent BITs. Until our model text contained an obligation not to impose mandatory local content, export or similar requirements. Key Personnel. BITs require each Party, subject to its individual immigration laws, to allow investors to enter and reside in its territory to make or operate investments.

This book demonstrates that the investment provisions were founded on the New Deal liberalism of the Roosevelt-Truman administrations and were intended to acquire for U. It chronicles the failed U. It then shows how the FCN treaties, which dated back to and originally concerned with establishing trade and maritime relations, were re-conceptualized as investment treaties to provide investment protection bilaterally. This book is also a work of diplomatic history, offering an account of the negotiating history of each of the 22 treaties and describing U.

However, compared to international trade law, international investment law has so far received only little research attention from an economic point of view. He explains why BITs are more than just a signal, how they relate to institutional competition as well as to institutional quality and why transparency in international investment arbitration is hard to achieve and may even be detrimental.

Book Summary: Over the past twenty years, foreign direct investments have spurred widespread liberalization of the foreign direct investment FDI regulatory framework. By opening up to foreign investors and encouraging FDI, which could result in increased capital and market access, many countries have improved the operational conditions for foreign affiliates and strengthened standards of treatment and protection.

By assuring investors that their investment will be legally protected with closed bilateral investment treaties BITs and double taxation treaties DTTs , this in turn creates greater interest in FDI. The importance of interpretation in international law cannot be overstated and, indeed, most treaty claims adjudicated before investment arbitral tribunals have raised and continue to raise crucial and often complex issues of interpretation.

The disputes relating to these treaties, however, are rather peculiar as they place multinational companies or natural person in opposition to sovereign governments. Fundamental questions dealt with in the study include: Are investment treaties a special category of treaty for the purpose of interpretation?

How have the rules on interpretation contained in the VCLT been applied in investment disputes? What are the main problems encountered in investment-related disputes?

To what extent are the VCLT rules suited to the interpretation of investment treaties? Have tribunals developed new techniques concerning treaty interpretation? Are these techniques consistent with the VCLT?

How can problems relating to interpretation be solved or minimised? How creative have arbitral tribunals been in interpreting investment treaties? Are States capable of keeping effective control over interpretation? Book Summary: The existing literature on the substantive and procedural aspects of bilateral investment treaties BITs relies heavily on investment treaty arbitration decisions as a source of law.

What is missing is a comprehensive, analytical review of state practice. This volume fills this gap, providing detailed analyses of the investment treaty policy and practice of nineteen leading capital-exporting states and emerging market economies.

The authors are leading experts in government, academia, and private legal practice, and their chapters are largely based on primary source materials.

Each chapter provides a description of the regulatory or policy framework governing foreign investment both inflows and outflows with a historical presentation of the state's Model BIT; an examination of internal government processes and practices relating to treaty negotiation, conclusion, ratification and record-keeping; and a detailed article-by-article analytical commentary of the state's Model BIT, elucidating the policy behind each provision and highlighting the ways in which the actual investment treaty practice of that state deviates from this standard text.

This commentary is supplemented by the case law relevant to that state's investment treaties. This commentary will be of immense assistance to counsel and arbitrators engaged in arguing and determining the proper interpretation of BITs and investment chapters in Free Trade Agreements, and to government officials and scholars engaged in BIT policy formulation and implementation.

It will serve as a standard resource for legal practitioners, scholars, policy-makers and other stakeholders in the field of international investment policy, law, and arbitration. Book Summary: This edition of the OECD Business and Finance Outlook focuses on fragmentation: the inconsistent structures, policies, rules, laws and industry practices that appear to be blocking business efficiency and productivity growth. Revisiting Bilateral Investment Treaties in the 21st Century.

A Kenyan and South African Experience. Some countries with BITs signed during this period have since reviewed those BITs and taken action to address the disadvantages the BITs held for the host nation or have either resorted to eradicating some of their BITs. In particular, developing countries that signed BITs with developed nations seem to be disproportionately disadvantaged in these agreements. The study highlights the possible lessons that could be learnt from the South African BIT review experience and provides recommendations for the Kenyan government regarding its outdated BITs.

The lessons and recommendations benefit not only Kenya but also other countries that are still to review their BITs as it adds to the literature on why it is important for countries with such BITs to revisit them and how they can go about the review mechanism best.

In addition, the study is also significant as far as it raises awareness of the use and effects of BITs, thereby enabling countries that enter into such agreements to make informed decisions. Book Summary: This comprehensive book provides a complete overview of the international legal system of foreign investment protection, synthesising material from treaties, general international law, contracts and case law to demonstrate a coherent system of investment protection.

Through this systematic approach, the book considers all aspects of the discipline, providing a thorough and accessible analysis. Book Summary: Since China adopted its 'open door' policy in , which altered its development strategy from self-sufficiency to active participation in the world market, its goal has remained unchanged: to assist the readjustment of China's economy, to coordinate its modernization programs, and to improve its quality of life.

With the launch of the 'Going Global' policy, an outward focus regarding foreign investment was added, to circumvent trade barriers and improve the competitiveness of Chinese firms. In order to accommodate inward and outward investment, China's participation in the international investment regime has underpinned its efforts to join multilateral investment-related legal instruments and conclude international investment agreements.

This collection, compiled by award-winning scholar Professor Julien Chaisse, explores the three distinct tracks of China's investment policy and strategy: bilateral agreements including those with the US and the EU; regional agreements including the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific; and global initiatives, spear-headed by China's presidency of the G20 and its 'Belt and Road initiative'. The book's overarching topic is whether these three tracks compete with each other, or whether they complement one another - a question of profound importance for the country's political and economic future and world investment governance.

Book Summary: Increasing international investment, the proliferation of international investment agreements, domestic legislation, and investor-State contracts have contributed to the development of a new field of international law that defines obligations between host states and foreign investors with investor-State dispute settlement. This involves not only vast sums, but also a panoply of rights, duties, and shifting objectives at the juncture of national and international law and policy.