Introduction

First, I think we should distinguish between BITs on the one hand and NAFTA and the current spate of bilateral so-called FTAs on the other. The latter generally go far beyond trade issues, and include many aspects of investment, notably intellectual property laws. Many small and medium sized countries (not only developing, but also developed such as Australia) are being tempted to such sign package deal treaties, when it is very hard to work out what the overall benefit might be for either side (as the recent debate about the proposed US-Pakistan BIT shows). The decisive factor ...