investment-facilitation-webinar-background-a7e64ba1d7082d1b.pdf

This briefing note by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) provides a historical and conceptual overview of global investment governance, focusing on the shift toward 'investment facilitation' as an alternative to traditional investment protection and liberalization models.

• Historically, multilateral attempts to create a regulatory body for global investment have largely failed. The 1948 Havana Charter, intended to establish an International Trade Organization (ITO) to oversee trade and foreign direct investment, never went into effect. Later, the OECD-led Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) collapsed in 1998 due to disagreements over liberalization commitments.
• The World Trade Organization (WTO) has very limited coverage of investment. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) only covers investment relating to 'commercial presence' (Mode 3), and the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMs) only applies to measures affecting trade in goods. Efforts to expand this were blocked by developing countries, leading to a 2004 'July Package' and a 2015 Nairobi Ministerial confirmation that investment would not be negotiated until the end of the current Round.
• In the absence of a multilateral framework, a fragmented network of over 3,000 bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and free trade agreements (FTAs) became the primary source of law. These traditional models focused on investment protection, but since the 1980s, liberalization elements have been added, and more recent agreements incorporate sustainable development considerations.
• Brazil introduced an innovative bilateral treaty model in 2014 called the Cooperation and Facilitation Investment Agreement (CFIA). Unlike traditional treaties, the CFIA prioritizes facilitation, cooperation, and risk mitigation over liberalization and protection, using annexes to address practical issues like visas and payment transfers.
• UNCTAD defines investment facilitation as 'policy measures to make it easier for investors to establish, expand and operate in host countries'. Its 2016 Global Action Menu proposes 10 action lines, emphasizing regulatory transparency, predictability, and the streamlining of administrative procedures without necessarily requiring new laws.
• There is a risk that investment facilitation measures may be conflated with investment protection or liberalization. Broad interpretations of 'fair and equitable treatment' by arbitration tribunals—such as in the Metalclad Corporation v. Mexico case—have already linked regulatory transparency and predictability to protection obligations, leading to awards against states.
• Since 2017, there has been renewed interest in a multilateral framework for investment facilitation at the WTO, inspired by the 2013 Trade Facilitation Agreement. Over 70 members issued a joint statement in 2017 calling for structured discussions, and at least six proposals have been submitted by members including Russia, China, Brazil, and MIKTA countries.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). investment-facilitation-webinar-background-a7e64ba1d7082d1b.pdf. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/investment-facilitation-webinar-background.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. investment-facilitation-webinar-background-a7e64ba1d7082d1b.pdf. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/investment-facilitation-webinar-background.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=investment-facilitation-webinar-background-a7e64ba1d7082d1b.pdf |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/investment-facilitation-webinar-background.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndinvestmentfacilitationwebinarbackgrounda7e64ba1d7082d1bpdf, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{investment-facilitation-webinar-background-a7e64ba1d7082d1b.pdf}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/investment-facilitation-webinar-background.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }