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1 1 (January 27, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govebnu0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Inferrnin g the legislative debate sinc'e 1914 Updated January 27, 2021 U.S. International Investment Agreements (IIAs) Background The United States, a major source of, and destination for, foreign direct investment (FDI), is party to binding international investment agreements (IIAs) with over 50 countries. Taking the form of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and investment chapters in free trade agreements (FTAs), these IIAs reduce FDI restrictions, ensure nondiscriminatory treatment of both investors and investment, and balance investment protections against other policy interests (such as safeguarding a host government's right to regulate in the public interest). While some World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements address investment issues in a limited manner, IIAs have been the primary tools for promoting investment and protecting investors. As of January 2021, more than 3,300 IIAs were concluded globally-forming a complex, overlapping network of investment rules. Role of Congress. U.S. BITs require Senate advice and consent. FTAs that include investment provisions that require changes in U.S. law require implementing legislation approved by both Houses to enter into force. Congress sets U.S. negotiating objectives on investment, most recently in the 2015 Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) (P.L. 114-26), which reaffirmed principal U.S. negotiating objectives to reduce or eliminate foreign investment barriers and to ensure that foreign investors do not receive greater substantive rights for investment protections than U.S. investors in the United States. The Department of State and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) co-lead U.S. investment negotiations using a Model BIT, revised in 2012 (see Box 1). U.S. IIAs. The United States has BITs with 40 countries and 14 FTAs with 20 countries (see Figure 1), most with investment chapters. More recent U.S. investment agreements and negotiations involve larger U.S. trading partners. Figure I. U.S. International Investment Agreements Aat Source: USTR and the Department of State information. The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) when entered into force on July 1, 2020, contains the most recent set of U.S. international investment commitments. USMCA retains many of the same core investment provisions, but adds new qualifications and provisions that reflect more recent U.S. trade and investment agreements, as well as compromises struck with the other parties. Notably, USMCA curtails the degree to which foreign investors can bring complaints against host https://crsrepor

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