ABSTRACT

Since 2017, World Trade Organization members have been engaged in Structured Discussions aimed at agreeing on a multilateral framework on investment facilitation for development. The negotiations focus on establishing binding disciplines for investment facilitation, which will likely be made subject to the World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Understanding. Investment facilitation, however, is that something states already do. Over the past decade, states have adopted record numbers of reforms at the domestic, regional, and international levels to facilitate foreign investment. These reforms show no signs of slowing. This begs an important question regarding the World Trade Organization initiative: given all the attention that investment facilitation already receives from states and international organizations, how, if at all, would the conclusion of a World Trade Organization Framework bring added value to states, i.e. value that cannot be achieved by ongoing efforts? Examining this question is the focus of this paper.

中文翻译：

---

世贸组织的多边投资便利化：寻找附加值

摘要

自2017年以来，世界贸易组织成员一直在进行结构化讨论，旨在商定促进投资促进发展的多边框架。谈判的重点是建立具有约束力的投资便利化纪律，这将有可能受到世界贸易组织争端解决谅解的约束。但是，投资便利化是国家已经在做些事情。在过去的十年中，各州在国内，区域和国际各级采取了创纪录的改革措施，以促进外国投资。这些改革没有丝毫放缓的迹象。这就引出了关于世界贸易组织倡议的一个重要问题：鉴于投资便利化已经受到各州和国际组织的关注，如何，如果有的话，世界贸易组织框架的结论是否会为国家带来附加价值，即通过持续努力无法实现的价值？检查这个问题是本文的重点。