Prepatory Committee for UNCTAD XI Hearing Statement of Stephen Porter

Stephen Porter of CIEL argues that UNCTAD should critically assess the benefits of investor-protection regimes, support developing countries facing pressure in bilateral trade and investment negotiations, and more aggressively promote alternative energy and environmental impact assessments in its development models.

• There is a lack of strong correlation between the adoption of rigorous international investment rules and an increase in the amount or quality of foreign direct investment (FDI). Porter urges UNCTAD to examine the costs of these regimes, specifically how they constrain the regulatory prerogatives of governments and limit 'policy space' necessary for sustainable development.
• Existing investment rules are expanding legal concepts such as national treatment and expropriation, which, combined with investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms, have led to an increase in international arbitration. Examples include corporate investors seeking compensation from the Argentine government for emergency economic policies and investors using NAFTA rules to seek compensation for environmental regulations.
• International investment regimes are imbalanced because they provide robust protections and dispute settlement for investors without imposing corresponding obligations on investors or their home states to ensure they behave as good citizens in host countries.
• A trend toward bilateral and regional trade and investment agreements is placing pressure on individual developing countries, leading some to adopt aggressive intellectual property and investment rules that exceed those discussed in multilateral fora like the WTO, including rules that go beyond the TRIPs agreement.
• UNCTAD should expand its environmental work by helping developing countries conduct environmental and social impact assessments of new trade agreements and by promoting alternative energy sources, such as solar and wind power, to support decentralized development and small and medium sized enterprises.

APA

Porter, S. (2004). Prepatory Committee for UNCTAD XI Hearing Statement of Stephen Porter. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/news/prepatory-committee-for-unctad-xi-hearing-statement-of-stephen-porter/

Chicago

Porter, Stephen. Prepatory Committee for UNCTAD XI Hearing Statement of Stephen Porter. Center for International Environmental Law, 2004. https://www.ciel.org/news/prepatory-committee-for-unctad-xi-hearing-statement-of-stephen-porter/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Porter |first1=Stephen |title=Prepatory Committee for UNCTAD XI Hearing Statement of Stephen Porter |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=16 January 2004 |url=https://www.ciel.org/news/prepatory-committee-for-unctad-xi-hearing-statement-of-stephen-porter/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{porter2004prepatory, author = {Porter, Stephen}, title = {{Prepatory Committee for UNCTAD XI Hearing Statement of Stephen Porter}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2004}, month = jan, url = {https://www.ciel.org/news/prepatory-committee-for-unctad-xi-hearing-statement-of-stephen-porter/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }