wir
Dear Members of the World Investment Network,
It is my pleasure to share with you the ninth Joint UNCTAD-OECD report on
G20 members' investment policy measures. The report finds that G20 members
have continued to honour their pledge not to introduce new restrictive
policies for international investment. However, policymakers should be
aware that FDI may not only be limited through formal policy changes, but
also through individual administrative decisions and informal public
signals that are beyond the scope of this report.
More specifically, the joint report finds that the great majority of
investment policy measures went into the direction of eliminating
restrictions and facilitating international investment, echoing findings
of earlier reports on G-20 investment measures.
During the reporting period running from October 2012 to May 2013 the
following measures were adopted:
Nine countries – Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, the Republic of
Korea, the Russian Federation, South Africa and the United States –
amended their investment-specific policies;
Six G20 members concluded four bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and
two other international investment agreements (IIAs).
Formal policy changes captured by this report are not the only way in
which governments influence – and at times discourage – FDI. Individual
administrative decisions with regard to specific foreign investment
projects (such as screening and monitoring procedures) and informal public
signals may also have a chilling effect on specific investment projects.
G20 Leaders should therefore bear in mind that the rather encouraging
findings in this report do not mean that the risk of investment
protectionism has disappeared.
This joint UNCTAD-OECD Report is published in preparation of the G-20
Summit in St. Petersburg in September 2013. It is part of the
WTO-UNCTAD-OECD Report on monitoring trade and investment measures adopted
by the G20 members.
* * *
In-depth analysis of overall investment policy developments, both at the
national and international levels, will be available in UNCTAD's 2013
World Investment Report (WIR), to be launched globally on 26th June. The
report will also present recent global and regional investment trends. The
theme of the report is "Global value chains: investment and trade for
development".
James Zhan
Director
Investment & Enterprise Division
United Nations Conference on Trade & Development
Palais des Nations, Geneva
Tel: +41 22 9175797
www.unctad.org/diae
www.unctad.org/wir (World Investment Reports)
