Análisis del borrador del capítulo de inversiones del ALCA

The report examines the draft investment chapter of the FTAA, highlighting its reliance on the NAFTA model. It identifies several critical areas where the draft threatens democratic governance and environmental protection, specifically through investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms, broad definitions of expropriation, and restrictions on capital controls and performance requirements.

• The draft FTAA investment chapter largely copies the investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms of NAFTA Chapter 11, which the authors describe as antidemocratic and biased toward large corporations. These mechanisms allow foreign investors to bypass national courts and use secret international arbitration to challenge democratically enacted laws and regulations.
• The draft proposes broad definitions of expropriation that include not only direct seizures but also indirect measures and any public action that reduces expected corporate profits. This allows corporations to sue governments for regulatory changes that decrease the value of their assets.
• The draft includes a 'Minimum Standard of Treatment' obligation, which is criticized for being vague and open-ended. The authors note that under NAFTA, this clause has been used by investors to expand the scope of their claims beyond pure investment regulations to include other treaty obligations.
• The FTAA draft seeks to go further than NAFTA by restricting governments' ability to implement capital controls to maintain financial stability. It explicitly requires the free transfer of capital contributions, royalties, and payments related to intellectual property and natural resource exploitation.
• The 'National Treatment' obligation in the draft would require governments to treat foreign investors no less favorably than domestic ones. The authors argue that the lack of public consultation makes it unlikely that governments will successfully negotiate necessary exceptions for specific sectors or national development goals.
• The draft replicates NAFTA's broad prohibitions on performance requirements—conditions imposed on investors to ensure the host country benefits from the investment. This is viewed as a threat to the sovereign and democratic formulation of public policies for social and economic development.
• The draft contains eight alternative definitions of 'investment,' most of which are broader than those in NAFTA. Some proposals extend protection to intellectual property rights, derivatives, licenses, and commercial contracts, mirroring language from the defeated Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI).

APA

L, M. P. R., Porter, S., Anderson, S., Dillon, J., Lee, M., Sinclair, S., Traynor, K., & Shrybman, S. (n.d.). Análisis del borrador del capítulo de inversiones del ALCA. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/HSAInvestmentAnalysisSpanish.pdf

Chicago

L, Manuel Pérez Rocha, Steve Porter, Sarah Anderson, John Dillon, Marc Lee, Scott Sinclair, Ken Traynor, and Steve Shrybman. Análisis del borrador del capítulo de inversiones del ALCA. Center for International Environmental Law, n.d. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/HSAInvestmentAnalysisSpanish.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{lndanlisis, author = {L, Manuel Pérez Rocha and Porter, Steve and Anderson, Sarah and Dillon, John and Lee, Marc and Sinclair, Scott and Traynor, Ken and Shrybman, Steve}, title = {{Análisis del borrador del capítulo de inversiones del ALCA}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/HSAInvestmentAnalysisSpanish.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }