International investment treaties (IIAs) are divided into two types: (1) bilateral investment treaties and (2) investment treaty agreements. A bilateral investment agreement (BIT) is an agreement between two countries on the promotion and protection of investments made by investors from each country in the territory of the other country. The vast majority of IIAs are BITs. The category of investment provision contracts (IPTs) combines different types of investment agreements that are not BITs. Three main types of TIP can be distinguished: 1. global economic contracts that contain obligations commonly found in BITs (e.g. B a free trade agreement with an investment chapter); 2. contracts with limited investment provisions (e.g. B only contracts for the installation of installations or the free transfer of funds linked to the investment); and 3. Contracts containing only “framework clauses”, such as those relating to cooperation in the field of investment and/or a mandate for future negotiations on investment issues.
In addition to IIAs, there is also an open category of investment-related instruments (IRRI). It includes various binding and non-binding instruments and includes, for example, model agreements and draft instruments, multilateral conventions on dispute settlement and arbitration rules, documents adopted by international organizations and others. UNCTAD`s Work Programme on International Investment Treaties (IIAs) actively supports IIA policymakers, government officials and other stakeholders in reforming the IIA to make it more conducive to sustainable development and inclusive growth. International investment rules take place at the bilateral, regional, interregional and multilateral levels. Policymakers, negotiators, civil society and other stakeholders need to be well informed about foreign direct investment, international investment agreements (IIAs) and their impact on sustainable development. Main objectives of UNCTAD`s Work Programme for IIAs • Reform of the International Investment Treaty (IIA) System to strengthen its sustainable development dimension; • Comprehensive analysis of key issues arising from the complexity of the international investment regime; • Development of a wide range of instruments to support the formulation of more balanced international investment policies. The trade agreement between the EU, on the one hand, and Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, on the other, has opened markets on both sides and provides an IIA browser This database of IIAs – the IIA navigator – is managed by UNCTAD`s IIV section. You can search for IAIs completed by a specific country or group of countries, view recently completed IIAs, or use advanced contract search for sophisticated searches tailored to your needs.
Please cite: UNCTAD, Navigator for International Investment Agreements, available under investmentpolicy.unctad.org/international-investment-agreements/ The Agreement also provides for the establishment of a Sub-Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures to resolve any problems in this area and to monitor SPS measures implemented by all Parties to this Agreement. For example, the sub-committee has made considerable progress towards achieving genuine EU access to the Colombian market for processed agricultural and food products. Title VII of the EU-Colombia-Peru-Ecuador Trade Agreement reaffirms the Parties` obligations under the TRIPS Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and grants them both national and most-favoured-nation treatment. This means that your intellectual property in Colombia, Ecuador or Peru will be treated in the same way as that of nationals of those countries. The trade agreement between the EU, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador improves market access by lowering or eliminating tariffs on key products destined for bilateral trade. Technical regulations specify the specific characteristics that a product must have in terms of design, labelling, marking, packaging, functionality and performance in order to protect human health and safety and environmental standards. However, it can be expensive for traders to meet different requirements in different markets. As a result, the EU now has a preferential trade agreement with three Andean Community countries (Bolivia is the exception). Bolivia currently benefits from the EU`s Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), notably through the system of incentives for sustainable development and governance known as GSP+.
Bolivia could also ask to negotiate accession to the trade agreement if it so wishes. IIA Mapping Project The IIA Mapping Project is a joint initiative of UNCTAD and universities around the world to map the content of IIAs. The resulting database serves as a tool to understand trends in IIA development, assess the prevalence of different policy approaches, and identify examples of treaties. .
