Incorporating an investment facilitation agreement within the WTO : A policy response belying its relevance to the WTO and its majority developing\LDC members

Journal article

Islam, M. Rafiqul and Zaman, Khorsed. (2023). Incorporating an investment facilitation agreement within the WTO : A policy response belying its relevance to the WTO and its majority developing\LDC members. International Trade and Business Law Review. 24, pp. 3-32.
AuthorsIslam, M. Rafiqul and Zaman, Khorsed
Abstract

The adoption of a multilateral agreement on investment facilitation for development under the WTO was proposed at the 2017 Ministerial Conference. This article debunks its relevance to the WTO and its majority developing/LDC Members. The WTO is in a crisis of unilateralism and protectionism, hamstringing its ability to regulate trade affairs. Relying on it for investment facilitation involving multi-tiered decision-making by several national authorities is a far-fetched idea. The peripheral policy approach to investment's developmental role has caused the perennial problem of asymmetric protection for corporate interest. Neither capital-exporting countries, with partisan pro-investment mindset, have the appetite to embrace any developmental role; nor can the capacity-constraint WTO deliver it. The prospective investment facilitation agreement's developmental role is no more than a platitude to appraise opponents. The promise by the WTGO of trade-induced prosperity for all remains elusive in many developing/LDC Members. A WTGO investment facilitation agreement will only accentuate inequality and poverty already created by lopsided trade incomes and the digital divide.

Keywordsinvestment; facilitation; agreement; WTGO; developed and developing members; sustainable development
Year2023
JournalInternational Trade and Business Law Review
Journal citation24, pp. 3-32
PublisherCurtin Law School, Curtin University of Technology
ISSN1836-8573
Web address (URL)https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/itbla24&i=13
Open accessPublished as non-open access
Research or scholarlyResearch
Page range3-32
Author's accepted manuscript
License
All rights reserved
File Access Level
Controlled
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online2023
Publication process dates
Deposited23 Nov 2023
Additional information

© Robert Cunningham and Authors, 2024.

Permalink -

https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/90002/incorporating-an-investment-facilitation-agreement-within-the-wto-a-policy-response-belying-its-relevance-to-the-wto-and-its-majority-developing-ldc-members

Log in to edit

Restricted files

Author's accepted manuscript

  • 212
    total views
  • 1
    total downloads
  • 2
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month
These values are for the period from 19th October 2020, when this repository was created.

Export as

Related outputs

Ambit of teaching freedom within Australia's current copyright regime
Ola, Kunle, Mehta, Zakhi and Zaman, Khorsed. (2024). Ambit of teaching freedom within Australia's current copyright regime. European Intellectual Property Review. 46(9), pp. 591-601.
Decolonising Human Rights Law in Global Health - the Impacts of Intellectual Property Law on Access to Essential Medicines : A Perspective from COVID-19 Pandemic
Zaman, Khorsed. (2024). Decolonising Human Rights Law in Global Health - the Impacts of Intellectual Property Law on Access to Essential Medicines : A Perspective from COVID-19 Pandemic. BMJ Global Health. pp. 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2044251323000747
Liberalization of Higher Education Services: Exploring the Prospects and Challenges Under the ‘Australia-Bangladesh Trade and Investment Framework Agreement’
Islam, M. Rafiqul and Zaman, Khorsed. (2023). Liberalization of Higher Education Services: Exploring the Prospects and Challenges Under the ‘Australia-Bangladesh Trade and Investment Framework Agreement’. Global Trade and Customs Journal. 18(6), pp. 228-240. https://doi.org/10.54648/gtcj2023026
The waiver of certain intellectual property rights provisions of the trips for the prevention, containment and treatment of COVID-19 : A review of the proposal under WTO jurisprudence
Zaman, Khorsed. (2022). The waiver of certain intellectual property rights provisions of the trips for the prevention, containment and treatment of COVID-19 : A review of the proposal under WTO jurisprudence. European Journal of Risk Regulation. 13(2), pp. 295-310. https://doi.org/10.1017/err.2021.60
Australia-China dispute over barley trade at the WTO : Challenges ahead and possible outcomes for Australia
Islam, M. Rafiqul and Khorseduzzaman, Khorsed. (2022). Australia-China dispute over barley trade at the WTO : Challenges ahead and possible outcomes for Australia. Global Trade and Customs Journal. 17(1), pp. 25-35. https://doi.org/10.54648/gtcj2022004
Minimising the International Investment Tribunal’s expansive treaty interpretation : Is ‘renegotiation’ of investment treaties a better strategy for host developing countries?
Zaman, Khorsed and Islam, M. Rafiqul. (2022). Minimising the International Investment Tribunal’s expansive treaty interpretation : Is ‘renegotiation’ of investment treaties a better strategy for host developing countries? International Trade and Business Law Review. 23, pp. 3-44.
An appraisal of “farmers’ rights” under the New Plant Variety Protection Act of Bangladesh : Is it a success story?
Zaman, Khorsed. (2021). An appraisal of “farmers’ rights” under the New Plant Variety Protection Act of Bangladesh : Is it a success story? European Intellectual Property Review. 43(3), pp. 194-202.
The proposal to the WTO for a new patent waiver on Covid-19 vaccines and pharmaceuticals : Is It necessary under TRIPS?
Khorseduzzaman, MD and Islam, M Rafiqul. (2021). The proposal to the WTO for a new patent waiver on Covid-19 vaccines and pharmaceuticals : Is It necessary under TRIPS? European Intellectual Property Review. 43(10), pp. 645-653.
Protection of intellectual property rights for agricultural innovations : Evaluating Bangladesh’s progression towards the international plant variety protection regime
Zaman, Khorsed. (2021). Protection of intellectual property rights for agricultural innovations : Evaluating Bangladesh’s progression towards the international plant variety protection regime. Journal of Intellectual Property Law and Practice. 16(7), pp. 677-691. https://doi.org/10.1093/jiplp/jpaa213
Blocking the trade in Mode 4 services and its impacts on the ongoing refugee crisis and migrant trafficking
Zaman, Khorsed. (2016). Blocking the trade in Mode 4 services and its impacts on the ongoing refugee crisis and migrant trafficking. Manchester Journal of International Economic Law. 13(3), pp. 389-406.
Deadly Migrant Trafficking Trade by Sea and Restrictive Service Trade by the WTO : Unmasking the Linkage for the Liberalization of Labour-Intensive Service Trade
Islam, M Rafiqul and Khorseduzzaman, MD. (2015). Deadly Migrant Trafficking Trade by Sea and Restrictive Service Trade by the WTO : Unmasking the Linkage for the Liberalization of Labour-Intensive Service Trade. Journal of International Trade Law and Policy. 14(2), pp. 86-104. https://doi.org/10.1108/JITLP-08-2015-0022
The TRIPS Patent Protection Provisions andTheir Effects on Transferring Climate ChangeTechnologies to LDCs and Poor DevelopingCountries : A Critical Appraisal
Khorseduzzaman, MD. (2013). The TRIPS Patent Protection Provisions andTheir Effects on Transferring Climate ChangeTechnologies to LDCs and Poor DevelopingCountries : A Critical Appraisal. Asian Journal of International Law. 3(1), pp. 137-161. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2044251312000185
Determining a "Reasonable" Implementation Timeline for Developing Countries in WTO Disputes : An Appraisal of Special Treatment Commitments in DSU Article 21.3 (C) Arbitrations
Khorseduzzaman, MD. (2013). Determining a "Reasonable" Implementation Timeline for Developing Countries in WTO Disputes : An Appraisal of Special Treatment Commitments in DSU Article 21.3 (C) Arbitrations. The Law and Practice of International Courts and Tribunals: a practitioners' journal. 12(1), pp. 31-47. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718034-12341243
Looming global warming-induced sea rise and transfer of green technology to the least-developed countries : challenges and options for submersible Bangladesh
Islam, M. Rafiqul and Khorseduzzaman, MD. (2010). Looming global warming-induced sea rise and transfer of green technology to the least-developed countries : challenges and options for submersible Bangladesh. European Intellectual Property Review. 32(12), pp. 643-652. https://doi.org/10.3316/agispt.20230805092694
Market Access for LDCs under the Hong Kong Ministerial of the WTO : Outcomes for Bangladesh
Islam, M. Rafiqul and Zaman, M. K.. (2006). Market Access for LDCs under the Hong Kong Ministerial of the WTO : Outcomes for Bangladesh. Journal of World Investment and Trade. 7(3), pp. 383-406. https://doi.org/10.1163/221190006X00234