CD114: Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Investment Chapter

10-01-2016 • 1時間 3分

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is finished and will be eligible for a vote in Congress in February 2016. In December, the Democrats held a hearing on the Investment chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. In this episode, highlights from that hearing and a summary of the provisions in one of the TPP's most important chapters.

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Trans-Pacific Partnership Text

Full Text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Office of the US Trade Representative, November 5, 2015.

Hearing Highlighted in this Episode

TPP Issue Analysis - Investment Chapter, House Ways and Means Committee (Democrats), December 2, 2015.

Watch on YouTube

Witnesses

Matt Porterfield
- Deputy Director and Adjunct Professor of law at the Harrison Institute for Public Law, Georgetown University Law Center
- Served on the State Department's Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy (ACIEP) Subcommittee on Investment during the Obama Administration
Ted Posner
- Parter at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, an international corporate law firm with 9 offices in the United States and 11 offices outside the country (see News and Announcements for list of clients)
- Served in the Office of the US Trade Representatives and on the National Security Council during the George W. Bush administration
- Served on the State Department's Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy (ACIEP) Subcommittee on Investment during the Obama Administration
Michael Smart
- Vice President of Rock Creek Global Advisors, LLC
- Director for International Trade and Investment on the National Security Council during the George W. Bush administration
- Was a lawyer in the ISDS system as an Associate at Sidley Austin during the George W. Bush administration's early years
- Was on the Democratic staff of the US Senate Committee on Finance during the early Obama administration years.
- Former staffer to former Rep. Earl Pomeroy for over nine years.
Thea Lee
- Deputy Chief of Staff, AFL-CIO, which represents 12.5 million American workers.
- Vice Chairwoman of the State Department's Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy (ACIEP) Subcommittee on Investment during the Obama Administration

Investment Chapter Highlights

Article 9.4: Countries can't treat companies from other countries any differently than they treat companies from their own
Article 9.6: Countries must provide police protection to foreign companies
Article 9.6: Removal of subsidies does not count as a violation of the treaty, even if the company is financially harmed
Article 9.7: Countries can nationalize their assets if they pay the companies with interest
Article 9.9: Countries can not require companies to use domestic goods or to buy products from within the country ("Buy American")
Section B: Conflicts between multinational companies and TPP countries will be settled through the Investor-State Dispute Settlement system
- Article 9.20: There is a statute of limitations of three years, six months from when the company should have known a "breach" occurred
- Article 9.21: The three judges will be selected by the company and the government involved (one each) and the third one either agreed upon or appointed by the Secretary General of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
- Article 9.22: The tribunal can award attorney's fees to the case winner
- Article 9.22: The burden of proof lies with the company making the claim
- Article 9.23: ISDS tribunal documents will be available to the public
- Article 9.28: Puts limits on the awards