Los Acuerdos sobre Inversión en las Américas: Perspectivas Económicas, Ambientales y Sociales

The report warns against the deregulation of investment within the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), specifically criticizing the adoption of models from NAFTA and the OECD's Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI). It argues that broad definitions of investment and restrictive rules on capital controls increase vulnerability to speculative 'hot money' and financial crises, as seen in Mexico and East Asia. Furthermore, it contends that such frameworks undermine environmental protection by allowing corporations to challenge public health and environmental regulations through secretive investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms and by prohibiting performance requirements like technology transfer.

• The report argues that if the FTAA investment chapter follows the NAFTA and MAI models, it will severely limit the ability of governments to regulate speculative short-term capital flows, even during financial crises.
• The 1997 East Asian financial crisis is attributed in part to financial liberalization, which led to a massive reversal of private international capital flows totaling US$ 105 billion, approximately 11% of the combined GDP of South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines.
• Mexico's 1994 peso crisis was exacerbated by 'hot money' (short-term bank loans and portfolio investments), with portfolio flows reaching 7.7% of GDP in 1993 compared to only 1.4% for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
• Capital controls used by countries like Chile and Colombia are presented as effective tools for maintaining economic stability and managing volatile inflows, yet such measures would be prohibited under the NAFTA/MAI model.
• The report claims that broad definitions of 'expropriation' in NAFTA Chapter 11 allow corporations to demand compensation for legitimate environmental and public health regulations, effectively forcing governments to 'pay to regulate'.
• The case of Ethyl Corporation against Canada is cited as an example where the threat of a NAFTA expropriation claim led the government to pay US$ 13 million and lift a ban on the toxic gasoline additive MMT.
• The report argues that prohibiting 'performance requirements' prevents developing countries from negotiating the transfer of technology as a condition for access to natural resources, which is essential for sustainable development.
• Investor-State dispute settlement mechanisms are criticized for being secretive, lacking transparency, and excluding the participation of affected local communities and sub-national governments.
• The report suggests that investment agreements should be decoupled from free trade agreements to prevent countries from being forced to accept restrictive investment rules to maintain trade benefits.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (1999). Los Acuerdos sobre Inversión en las Américas: Perspectivas Económicas, Ambientales y Sociales. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/miamiinvestmentpaperspanish.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Los Acuerdos sobre Inversión en las Américas: Perspectivas Económicas, Ambientales y Sociales. 1999. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/miamiinvestmentpaperspanish.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Los Acuerdos sobre Inversión en las Américas: Perspectivas Económicas, Ambientales y Sociales |date=1999 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/miamiinvestmentpaperspanish.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw1999los, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Los Acuerdos sobre Inversión en las Américas: Perspectivas Económicas, Ambientales y Sociales}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {1999}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/miamiinvestmentpaperspanish.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }