Productive New Negotiating Round for an
Investment Facilitation Agreement in WTO
At
a negotiating meeting of the structured discussions on investment facilitation for
development on 11-12 May, participating members made good progress, with a view
to achieving a concrete outcome at the 12th Ministerial Conference at the end of
the year. Delegations addressed a number of provisions across several sections of
the so-called Easter text, the consolidated document which serves as the basis for
the negotiations.
Over
the day-and-a-half meeting, participants heard the reports of the facilitators of
two small discussion groups on the scope of the agreement and on the facilitation
of the entry and temporary stay of business persons for investment purposes. The
coordinator of the negotiations, Ambassador Mathias Francke
of Chile, commended the facilitators for their hard work and encouraged participants
in the small groups to continue making progress in their deliberations and to work
constructively.
Discussions
continued on the “Easter text” and
on the inclusion of a most-favoured nation (MFN) treatment
provision based on a proposal submitted by a member, which was presented at the
last intersessional meeting on 30 April. Delegations also addressed the issues of
transfers and payments, focal points, domestic regulatory coherence, domestic supplier
databases and cross-border cooperation. Finally, they discussed provisions on responsible
business conduct.
At the
next intersessional meeting on 31 May-1 June, participating members will hold a
discussion on possible definitions to be included in the future agreement. They
will review the section of the “Easter text” on transparency of investment measures
and discuss the text proposals on measures to combat corruption as well as the possibility
of a future work programme and the issues that could be
included.
In addition,
a discussion — outside the negotiations — will look at the legal architecture or
possible options for giving legal effect to the outcome of these negotiations.
Member-driven,
transparent, inclusive and open to all WTO members, this joint initiative currently
has the participation of over 100 members, up from the 70 that supported the Joint Ministerial Statement on Investment
Facilitation for Development launched at the 11th Ministerial Conference held in
December 2017 in Buenos Aires.
In a
second Joint Statement on Investment
Facilitation for Development issued on 22 November 2019,
98 members expressed support for the 2017 joint ministerial statement. They committed
to intensifying work to further develop the framework for facilitating foreign direct
investment, and to work towards a concrete outcome on investment facilitation for
development at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12). Participating members
also agreed to continue their outreach efforts towards non-participating WTO members,
especially developing and least-developed members, to ensure that the future framework
helps address their investment facilitation priorities and needs.