Introduction

There has been a recent upsurge of Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) and Free Trade Agreement (FTA) activity by the US Government. This has, in some respects, had the effect of widening the ambit of the protections afforded to international investors investing in, or out of, the US. The upsurge has coincided with the completion, in November 2004, of the new US model BIT. This article examines a few of the many notable changes in the new US model, although in any given situation there will continue to be no substitute for examination of the specific treaty in issue.