Developing a Model Investment Treaty for CARICOM
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Developing a Model Investment Treaty for CARICOM
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Contact: Claudia Monlouis
Tuesday, January 17, 2012 – The Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) has re-emphasized the importance of a Model Investment Chapter for CARICOM.
Recently, Director General of the Office of Trade Negotiations OTN Ambassador Gail Mathurin shed light on CARICOM's efforts to respond effectively to a shrinking level of Foreign Direct Investment into the region. The ambassador was addressing the opening of a three day Regional Investment Conference on the Development of a Model Investment Treaty for CARICOM.
“Whereas agreements with Costa Rica, Cuba and the Dominican Republic have comprehensive investment chapters, the Colombia and Venezuela agreements have limited investment provisions, where in most cases, the parties have committed to a general framework for investment. However CARICOM member states interested in assuming deeper commitments are encouraged to negotiate these terms separately.”
Individual investment agreements the ambassador explained have proven not to be the best approach . As a matter of fact the OTN official noted that if anything, CARICOM states are in a more vulnerable position for having entered into individual agreements in the past.
“As individual states CARICOM members have negotiated over 100 bilateral investment treaties as well as various investment contracts with individual investors. With the majority of these investments negotiated between 1970 and 1990 and in the context of evolving national, regional and global realities, CARICOM states run the risk of continued commitment to arrangements that are sub-optimal.”.
The Special Technical Team on Investment (STTI) was constituted to guide the elaboration of a CARICOM Investment Code, which to date, is designed to provide a framework for the protection and promotion of intra-regional and extra-regional investments. However, there have been challenges which have affected the sustained work of the team. The January 10th to 12th meeting was held in Saint Lucia. |
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