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INVESTMENT REGIMES IN THE EU-MERCOSUR NEGOTIATIONS, by Christian Russau, FDCL, Berlin, September 2005

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Chapter 5. Conclusions

It is the principal goal of neo-liberal policies to eliminate the condition of the possibility for trade-relevant policies, which for instance use active governance elements to promote local or regional development, or capital-flow controls, or other restrictions and conditionings in an acute financial crisis, as a form of political control. The legal foundation of this elimination is provided by bilateral investment treaties on the one hand, and free trade agreements, such as the one currently being negotiated between the EU and MERCOSUR on the other hand. A victory for the EU negotiators in the meanwhile resumed negotiations on an 'inter-regional association treaty' between the EU and MERCOSUR, i.e. the legally binding adoption of the eliminations the EU so vehemently requested in the past,would result in, amongst other effects, 98 one of the two key elements to end the condition of the possibility of autonomous industrial policies which the four MERCOSUR countries have to promote region- or sectorspecific development by means of economic policy-making. The second element in the web of international investment regime agreements consists of the bilateral investment 'protection' treaties. In the case of MERCOSUR, the position of Brazil concerning the decision on ratification, modification or refusal, or the pending BITs, is pivotal, but the Argentinian discussion on a retrospective modification of existing BITs is equally important. However, if internationally binding treaties eliminate the condition of the possibility for political decisionmaking in the sector of foreign direct investments on national territory, thus imposing the deregulation of domestic markets through the regulation of international investmentregimes99, the question arises as to which possibilities states may still have to conduct active investment policies to promote social development, on the one hand; and on the other hand, there is a risk of losing democratic control in these political areas, where democratically elected governments cannot exercise any politically relevant influence, since they are restricted by international investment regimes. And this is one of the reasons to oppose not only the free trade agreement between the European Union and MERCOSUR, but also any bilateral investment agreements (existing, planned or in the ratification process).

 

 

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Footnotes:

98] This paper deals exclusively with the questions of 'investments'. For the serious consequences of a potential 'inter-regional association treaty' between MERCOSUR and the EU, see: 'Alianza Social Continental: Movimientos de Mercosur: el acuerdo con UE es nocivo a los pueblos', 3 June 2004, see <http://www.aschsa. org/article.php3?id_article=148>; 'Alianza Social Continental: Acordo com UE traria 'ganho social zero'', 15 October 2004, see <http://www.asc-hsa.org/article.php3?id_article=190>; 'Declaración de los movimientos y organizaciones sociales del Mercosur: UE-Mercosur: ganancias para pocos, amenaza para la mayoría', 22 October 2004, see <http://www.bilaterals.org/article.php3?id_article=771>.
99] See extensively: Russau, Christian, 'Durchsetzung internationaler Handelsregime zwischen der Europäischen Union (EU) und dem Gemeinsamen Markt des Südens (MERCOSUR)? Ausländische Direktinvestitionen als Gegenstand der Freihandelsverhandlungen im Spannungsfeld von Investorenrechten, Entwicklung und Menschenrechten', in: FDCL: EU-MERCOSUR Bulletin N°1, January 2004

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