Introduction

Foreign investors should not hold their collective breath waiting for a high quality Multilateral Agreement on investment rules and disciplines. The WTO Doha Round negotiations are hopelessly stuck over proposals for a low quality agreement. The FTAA Ministerial meeting in Miami did nothing to remove the 5,000 square brackets which remain in that negotiating text after nearly a decade of discussions- headed for perhaps five more. Those WTO Members opposed to further liberalisation of trade and investment barriers, principally India, Malaysia and Brazil, have fought the ...