The Making of an International Investment Facilitation Framework
Legal, Political and Economic Perspectives

The political, legal and economics perspectives of the making of a historical WTO agreement on investment facilitation for development.

Axel Berger (Edited by), Manjiao Chi (Edited by)

9781009444088, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 20 March 2025

429 pages
23.5 x 16 x 2.8 cm, 0.75 kg

'This impressive volume contains a comprehensive discussion of a range of issues related to the WTO's Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement, contributed by an international group of multidisciplinary scholars who have an excellent understanding of the subject matter.' Karl P. Sauvant, Resident Senior Fellow, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment

This book comprehensively investigates the rationale and effects of the first multilateral agreement on investment facilitation for development, including the interests of key WTO members. It adopts a multidisciplinary, transregional and data-driven approach to explore the political, economic and legal aspects pertaining to the most recent WTO agreement. The book highlights how this agreement broadens the scope of the WTO to the contentious area of foreign investment and adopts the innovative facilitation approach. The book presents cutting-edge research on the (non-)adoption of investment facilitation worldwide, the economic impact of the agreement, its legal implications and the political economy explaining why the investment facilitation for development agreement came about. The book brings together leading experts from various disciplines and practices and aims at inspiring more substantive research in this new field of international economic rule-making. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Introduction: law, politics and economics of international disciplines on investment facilitation for development Axel Berger and Manjiao Chi
Part I. Investment Facilitation Rules in International and Domestic Law: 1. Domestic investment facilitation frameworks: measuring their extent and variation Axel Berger, Florian Gitt and Ali Dadkhah
2. Investment facilitation provisions in international investment agreements and the multilateral framework on investment facilitation for development Rodrigo Polanco
3. Relationship between the investment facilitation for development and other WTO agreements – potential overlaps and complementarities in the non-service sector Yuka Fukunaga
4. Investment facilitation and dispute settlement: a structural analysis Manjiao Chi
Part II. Political Economy Perspectives of Investment Facilitation Rule-Making: 5. Economic impacts of an investment facilitation for development agreement Edward J. Balistreri and Zoryana Olekseyuk
6. The political economy of an investment facilitation for development agreement in Brazil, India and China Julia Calvert
7. Facilitation of Foreign direct investment through International economic law – contribution to the right to development and SDGs Ole Kristian Fauchald
8. Plurilateral negotiations in the WTO on services domestic regulation and investment facilitation for development Christian Pitschas
9. Special economic zones and investment facilitation Richard Bolwijn and Jing Li
10. Investment facilitation and the Global technology sector: intergovernmental cooperation versus geopolitical rivalry Simon B. C. Lacey
Part III. Regional Perspectives of Investment Facilitation Rule-Making: 11. Domestic governance and treaty practice of Brazil's investment cooperation and facilitation agreements Michelle R. Sanchez-Badin and Manu Misra
12. The European Union and investment facilitation at the WTO Sophie Meunier and Christilla Roederer-Rynning
13. China's approach to investment facilitation Xiuli Han
14. The WTO facilitation framework without Africa: unpacking the conundrum Malebakeng Agnes Forere
Index.

Subject Areas: International economic & trade law [LBBM]