Sustainable International Investment Law After the Pax Americana: The BOOT on the Other Foot
Journal of World Investment and Trade, Vol .13, No. 2, 325-348, 2012
32 Pages Posted: 25 Apr 2011 Last revised: 22 Dec 2016
Date Written: October 17, 2011
Abstract
An increasing proportion of outward foreign direct investment (‘FDI’) now originates from emerging market economies, representing a new stage of globalization that appears to be modifying the existing regime of international investment law, created largely to serve the needs of Western multinational enterprises (MNEs) in the 20th Century. This article will examine some trends in international investment law that may indicate a rejection of liberalization in favour of greater control by host states, some aspects of which should be viewed in a positive light because of their acknowledgement of important public interest concerns. While these regulatory restrictions on FDI may not have been pursued specifically to disadvantage emerging market MNEs, these firms may face difficulties that their western counterparts did not, in large part because of greater recognition of the need for sustainability in international investment policy. The article concludes by recommending greater use of partnerships between host states and foreign investors as well as a balanced approach to the interpretation of FDI-restrictive laws.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation