Month:

February 2014

TPP – power to the corporations at the expense of the planet

Theecologist.org | Thomas Mc Donagh | 17th February 2014 The TPP trade deal would expand a system of corporate rights and private courts that threaten progress on some of our most urgent environmental issues, writes Thomas McDonagh. “In Costa Rica, mining firm Infinito Gold is suing the government for over$1bnfollowing the rejectionof an open-pit mining project that threatened …
Read more

Bolivia faces new May Day nationalisation claim

Source: Globalarbitrationreview.com Kyriaki Karadelis • Friday, 28 February 2014 A Spanish company is bringing an UNCITRAL claim against Bolivia over the nationalisation of the state’s main electricity transmission grid on May Day two years ago.

Canadian Organizations Condemn Gold Company’s Lawsuit Against Costa Rica

Source: Miningwatch.ca Thursday, February 13, 2014 Source: Blue Planet Project – Common Frontiers – Council of Canadians – MiningWatch Canada (Ottawa/Toronto) Canadian organizations are disappointed that Calgary-based Infinito Goldhas lodged a long-threatened investor-state lawsuit against the Costa Rican government in the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The company is contesting Costa Rica’s …
Read more

Trade deal intrudes too far

Source: Stuff.co.nz 14/02/2014 OPINION: The Trans-Pacific Partnership covers a lot of non-trade matters, so why is there a reluctance to discuss the overall balance of costs and benefits, asks Simon Terry. The Trans-Pacific Partnership is very different from past trade deals and the differences matter. It bundles together standard gains from trade with a wide range of …
Read more

Can Chile Curb the TPP?

Source: Fpif.org With the U.S. Congress deadlocked over trade, Chile’s progressive new government may be able to win new protections and increase transparency in the TPP talks. President Barack Obama’s failure to win congressional support for “fast track” trade authority has weakened the hands of U.S.  trade officials as they attempt to finalize the Trans-Pacific Partnership. …
Read more

The “spaghetti bowl” of IIAs: The end of history?

Source: Vcc.columbia.edu Perspectives on topical foreign direct investment issues by the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment   The “spaghetti bowl” of IIAs: The end of history? by Joachim Karl*   In his famous book, ”The End of History and the Last Man”, published in 1992, Francis Fukuyama argued that Western democracy represents the end point of …
Read more