Abstract
International Investment Agreements tend to be bilateral, this is no coincidence that historically the first agreements were named Bilateral Investment Agreements. But with the negotiation and ratification of treaties as the TPP, CETA Canada- European Union and the TTIP, multilateral investment treaties are becoming a reality. How to cope between the relation of new and previous treaties between same parties? One option is to terminate the previous and another is to make them coexist. This last option was taken by the TPP and the Pacific Alliance Additional Protocol to its Framework Agreement. This article discusses the reasons of opting for this solution, and specially its legal implications in the Pacific Alliance Agreement. In a first part the bilateral agreements of the Pacific Alliance partners are exposed and compared with the Additional Protocol. In a second part, the risks of the coexistence of agreements for coherence will be assessed. In a third and final part, legal implications of coherence and the legal architecture to avoid conflict of norms will be explained; finally an economic explanation to coherence will be exposed.
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Notes
- 1.
This article is based partially on a previous research conducted with Alejandro Matsuno and presented at the conference The Pacific Alliance in a World of Preferential Trade Agreements. Lessons in Comparative Regionalism, held in Bogotá in November 2015 under the title of “MFN clauses in the IIAs of the members of the Pacific Alliance: Does the MFN clause of Chapter 10 of the Pacific Alliance Additional Protocol change the members’ scope of obligations on investment protection issues”. The author wish to thank Pierre Sauvé, Rodrigo Polanco and the audience of the conference; for their very thoughtful comments that help to redirect the research to the work is now presented.
- 2.
The PA has two prospective members (Costa Rica and Panama) and 42 countries have the status of observers.
- 3.
Its main objectives set out in Article 3 of the Framework Agreement are: (i) To build a deep integration zone, to progressively advance towards the free movement of goods, services, capital and persons, in a participative and consensual manner. (ii) To foster mayor growth, development and competitiveness in the economies of the State parties in order to achieve higher levels of welfare and social inclusion; and to eradicate social and economic inequalities. (iii) To become a platform for political articulation and economic and commercial integration; a platform to project the State parties to the world, but with a special emphasis in the Asia-Pacific area. (Free translation and adaptation).
- 4.
Adopted on 6 June 2012, entered into force on 20 July 2015.
- 5.
Personal communication.
- 6.
The conclusion of most studies is that there is no direct relationship between IIAs and foreign direct investment (FDI): signing an IIA is not a guarantee that the country will receive more FDI (even though IIAs are considered by the investors). See, for instance Guzman (1998).
- 7.
IIAs are still an important instrument, either because they are the first step towards deeper economic integration i.e. a preferential trade agreement (in line with Tobin and Busch (2010)) or because they meet some of the demands of investors in the so-called developed countries if they are to invest in developing countries (Franck 2012, p. 502).
- 8.
Article 1.2 and 1.3 of the PA Additional Protocol.
- 9.
Dirección General de Relaciones Económicas Internacionales (DIRECON). 2016. Tratado de Libre Comercio Chile – México. http://www.direcon.gob.cl/detalle-de-acuerdos/?idacuerdo=6208. Accessed 12 January 2016.
- 10.
Ibid.
- 11.
DIRECON, Acuerdo de Libre Comercio Chile – Perú. 2016. http://www.direcon.gob.cl/detalle-de-acuerdos/?idacuerdo=6255. Accessed 12 January 2016.
- 12.
Annex 11-E of the FTA.
- 13.
DIRECON, Acuerdo de Libre Comercio Chile – Perú. 2016. http://www.direcon.gob.cl/detalle-de-acuerdos/?idacuerdo=6271. Accessed 12 January 2016.
- 14.
“Artículo 22. Los países signatarios, dentro de sus respectivas legislaciones sobre inversión extranjera otorgarán los mejores tratamientos a los capitales del otro país signatario, ya sea este el correspondiente al capital nacional o extranjero”.
- 15.
MINCOMERCIO INDUSTRIA Y TURISMO. ACE NO: 24. 2016. http://www.mincit.gov.co/tlc/publicaciones.php?id=1426. Accessed 12 January 2016.
- 16.
MINCOMERCIO INDUSTRIA Y TURISMO. ACE NO: 24. 2016. http://www.mincit.gov.co/tlc/publicaciones.php?id=11963. Accessed 12 January 2016.
- 17.
MINCETUR. Acuerdos Comerciales del Perú. 2016. http://www.acuerdoscomerciales.gob.pe/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=75&Itemid=98. Accessed 12 January 2016.
- 18.
See: MINCETUR, Acuerdo de Complementación Económica No. 8. Perú-México. 2016. http://www.mincetur.gob.pe/comercio/Legal/ACE8_completo.html. Accessed 12 January 2016.
- 19.
In Spanish “estimular las inversiones” (Article 29 of the ACE No. 8).
- 20.
Free translation. ALADI. ¿Qué es la ALADI? 2016. http://www.aladi.org/nsfaladi/preguntasfrecuentes.nsf/fd7fc5dc8b0352c1032567bb004f8e78/fe139cfd067aec28032574be0043f17e?OpenDocument. Accessed 03 March 2016.
- 21.
European Commission. CETA Chapter by Chapter. 2016. http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/in-focus/ceta/ceta-chapter-by-chapter. Accessed 22 June 2017.
- 22.
For instance if person “c”, a national of the state C, wants to benefit from the rights established in the treaty between states A and B, using an MFN clause in the treaty between states A and C.
- 23.
ICSID. Emilio Agustín Maffezini v. The Kingdom of Spain, ICSID Case No. ARB/97/7. http://www.italaw.com/cases/641#sthash.9oCSSeru.dpuf. Accessed 14 February 2016.
- 24.
The original text in Spanish reads: “Perú se reserva el derecho de adoptar o mantener cualquier medida que otorgue trato diferente a países de conformidad con cualquier tratado internacional bilateral o multilateral en vigor o suscrito con anterioridad a la fecha de entrada en vigor del presente Protocolo Adicional”.
- 25.
The original text is available at: https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%201155/volume-1155-I-18232-English.pdf
- 26.
Free translation from the Spanish text, that is very similar to the TPP one, reads: “Para los efectos de la aplicación del presente Protocolo Adicional, las Partes reconocen que el hecho de que un acuerdo otorgue un trato más favorable a las mercancías, servicios, inversiones o personas que el otorgado de conformidad con el presente Protocolo Adicional, no constituye un caso de incompatibilidad en el sentido del párrafo 2.”
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Saco, V. (2019). The International Investment Agreements of the Pacific Alliance Members and Their Relationship of “Coexistence” with Chapter 10 of the Pacific Alliance Additional Protocol. In: Sauvé, P., Polanco Lazo, R., Álvarez Zárate, J. (eds) The Pacific Alliance in a World of Preferential Trade Agreements. United Nations University Series on Regionalism, vol 16. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78464-9_9
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