WTO - Investment facilitation negotiators announce deal on Agreement’s text WTO members participating in the talks on investment facilitation for development (IFD) announced on 6 July the conclusion of the negotiations on the text of the Agreement following three years of intense text-based negotiations amongst over 110 delegations at all levels of development.

WTO - Investment facilitation talks aim at concluding draft text negotiations in early July The Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) initiative held on 8 June a plenary meeting following two days of productive consultations, at which many of the remaining open technical issues in the draft IFD Agreement were resolved.

WTO - Investment facilitation negotiators welcome substantive progress in Draft Agreement At a plenary meeting on 4 May following two days of consultations, WTO members participating in the negotiations on investment facilitation for development (IFD) commended the substantive progress made in the Draft Agreement since the start of this year and the co-coordinators of the talks introduced the latest revision of the draft text, which reflects solid progress towards the objective of finalizing the negotiations by mid-2023.

WTO - Investment facilitation talks resolve remaining issues in Annex to Draft Agreement WTO members participating in the negotiations on investment facilitation for development (IFD) agreed to remove an Annex to the Draft Agreement which previously contained a list of the pending issues they had yet to tackle. These issues have now been addressed to the satisfaction of the IFD parties, and so the Annex will be removed from the next version of the text.

WTO - Investment facilitation talks advance work towards finalizing negotiating text WTO members taking part in the discussions on investment facilitation for development (IFD) have made steady progress towards finalizing a negotiating text by mid-2023. Delegations held a new round of consultations followed by a plenary meeting on 3 March, where they advanced technical work towards resolving the remaining issues in the Annex to the Draft Agreement and completing a review of the text.

WTO - Investment facilitation talks intensify to conclude draft agreement in first half of 2023 WTO members participating in the negotiations on investment facilitation for development (IFD) agreed on an intensive schedule of meetings over the coming months, with the objective of finalizing the negotiating text by mid-2023.

WTO - Circulation of draft Agreement marks major milestone in investment facilitation talks The latest negotiating text, that participating members agree to refer to as the “Draft IFD Agreement”, consolidates the ten successive updates made to the “Easter text” — the document used as the basis for the negotiations — since the first version was circulated to all members in April 2021.

WTO - Investment facilitation talks gear up to deliver stabilized text by end of the year At the last plenary meeting, held on 25 November, the co-coordinators announced that the final plenary session of 2022 will take place at ambassador level, with the participation of capital-based experts both in-person and online.

Investment facilitation talks make headway on solving remaining issues in negotiating text WTO members taking part in the negotiations for an agreement on investment facilitation for development (IFD) on 1-3 November made substantial progress in resolving remaining issues towards achieving a single, “stabilized” text.

Investment facilitation talks intensify towards achieving “stabilized” negotiating text WTO members taking part in the negotiations for an agreement on investment facilitation for development (IFD) on 14 October committed to advance work in line with their aspiration of finalizing text negotiations by the end of the year and achieving “a good and meaningful” agreement. Participants were urged to resolve pending issues in order to achieve a single, stabilized version of the “Easter text” — the document used as the basis for the negotiations — that could be reviewed in its entirety.

Investment facilitation negotiators reaffirm aim of concluding text-based talks this year Participants in the IFD negotiations on 22 September reiterated their strong commitment to the objective of concluding the text negotiations on an agreement by the end of the year. The co-coordinators reported on the main take-aways from their informal bilateral consultations with interested participants held on 5-6 September 2022 and introduced the seventh revision of the “Easter Text” — the document used as the basis for the negotiations — which was circulated on 7 September.

Investment facilitation negotiators confirm aim of finalizing text-based talks by end-2022 Participants in the investment facilitation for development (IFD) negotiations on 8 July started planning work for the second half of the year in order to meet their objective of concluding the text-based negotiations by the end of 2022. The co-coordinators announced their intention to issue a revised version of the “Easter Text” — the document used as the basis for the negotiations — in September if there is sufficient progress in the negotiations.

Investment facilitation negotiators take steps to assess needs of developing countries Participants in the investment facilitation negotiations agreed at a meeting on 14-15 February to establish a Working Group of international organizations working on investment facilitation, coordinated by the WTO Secretariat, to develop a Self-Assessment Guide to help developing and least developed countries assess their needs in terms of implementing the future agreement. They also discussed key issues, with a view to concluding the text negotiations by the end of 2022.

Investment facilitation negotiators resume work, aim at conclusion by end of 2022 WTO members taking part in the negotiations for an agreement on investment facilitation for development (IFD) resumed their work on 26-27 January, reaffirming their objective to conclude the text negotiations by the end of 2022. Participants discussed the priority work issues for the coming months and committed to further intensify outreach efforts towards other WTO members.

WTO - Joint Statement Released by Investment Facilitation for Development Parties In WTO Document WT/L/1130, 112 parties to the Joint Initiative on Investment Facilitation for Development released a joint statement updating on progress in the negotiations, welcoming the conslidated 'Easter Text' contained in INF/IFD/RD/74/Rev.5 and identifying it as the basis for ongoing work.

WTO - Investment facilitation agreement negotiators advance work for MC12 WTO members taking part in the negotiations for an agreement on investment facilitation for development (IFD) have discussed their plans and expectations for the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) to be held in Geneva on 30 November — 3 December. At a meeting on 2-3 November, participating members also addressed a number of provisions in several sections of the so-called Easter text, the consolidated document which serves as the basis for the negotiations.

WTO - Investment facilitation talks explore future Agreement integration into WTO legal structure WTO members taking part in the discussions on investment facilitation for development (IFD) made steady progress in negotiating a future Agreement at a new round of meetings on 4-5 October 2021. The meetings saw a high level of engagement and active participation, with delegations engaging in a conceptual discussion on the integration of the future IFD Agreement into the WTO legal structure, based on a series of guiding questions.

WTO - Investment facilitation talks address S&DT, technical assistance and sustainable investment At a negotiating meeting of the structured discussions on investment facilitation for development on 7-8 September 2021, participating members discussed recent proposals on special and differential treatment (S&DT) for developing and least developed country (LDC) members, technical assistance and capacity building, cross-border cooperation, sustainable investment and home-country obligations. Delegates also heard the reports of the discussion group facilitators on “scope” and “facilitation of the entry and temporary stay of business persons for investment purposes”. Members welcomed Peru following its decision to participate in this joint initiative.

WTO - DG Okonjo-Iweala welcomes progress on investment facilitation Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala welcomed the headway towards an agreement made by participants in the negotiations on investment facilitation for development. Speaking on 13 July at a stocktaking and planning session organized by the group of participating members, DG Okonjo-Iweala stressed that facilitating investment flows to developing countries would be essential to sustain and accelerate the post-pandemic economic recovery, particularly in developing and least-developed economies.

WTO - Investment facilitation talks advance, delve into implementation and technical assistance Participants in the discussions on investment facilitation for development (IFD) continued to make progress in negotiating a future agreement. At a new round of meetings on 16-17 June, which saw a high level of engagement, delegations also participated in a dedicated session on implementation, technical assistance and capacity building with a view to informing and facilitating discussions on these issues.

WTO - Productive new negotiating round for an investment facilitation agreement At a negotiating meeting of the structured discussions on investment facilitation for development on 11-12 May, participating members made good progress, with a view to achieving a concrete outcome at the 12th Ministerial Conference at the end of the year. Delegations addressed a number of provisions across several sections of the so-called Easter text, the consolidated document which serves as the basis for the negotiations.

WTO - Steady progress in the negotiations for an investment facilitation agreement The participants in the negotiations for an agreement on investment facilitation for development held another negotiating meeting on 8-9 March 2021, which saw steady progress and a high level of engagement in the discussions. The progress laid the ground for the coordinator, Ambassador Mathias Francke of Chile, to reiterate his intention to circulate around Easter time a streamlined text compiling all the revised draft inputs put forward during the previous rounds of negotiations as well as the different proposals submitted by WTO members.

WTO - Investment facilitation agreement negotiators set up roadmap towards Ministerial Conference WTO members taking part in the negotiations for an agreement on investment facilitation for development have approved a roadmap with a view to reaching a substantive outcome by the next Ministerial Conference. At the first round of meetings of 2021 held on 25-26 January, delegations actively engaged in the continued discussion and committed in this new phase to make as much progress as possible — and as speedily as possible — on the development of specific provisions for a future agreement.

WTO - Investment facilitation agreement negotiators wrap up productive year The participants in the negotiations for an agreement on investment facilitation for development held another round of meetings on 7-8 December which saw a high level of participation and engagement. Negotiations will resume in January 2021 with a view to achieving a concrete outcome by the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12), scheduled for next year.

WTO - Investment facilitation negotiations end productive year, aim at conclusion by end 2022 WTO members taking part in the negotiations for an agreement on investment facilitation for development (IFD) held on 24 November their last meeting before the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12), wrapping up “a very productive year” and setting the target of concluding text negotiations by the end of 2022.

PIIE - WTO members find a new (and successful) approach to negotiations In this blog, former WTO Deputy Director-General Alan Wolff discusses why the Investment Facilitation for Development negotiations succeeded where others have stalled, and how their conclusion might offer a new model for outcomes moving forward.

IISD - Investment Facilitation for Development: Evolution from 2022 and the road to MC13 Author: Rashmi Jose

The brief provides an update on how the negotiating text has evolved, summarizing the content of the draft agreement as it stands. It also highlights the main changes to the text from 2022 and the issues that members have yet to align on. The paper concludes with an overview of what might be expected from the JSI process going forward, including on the matter of the legal architecture.

IISD - The State of Play for Sustainable Development in the Joint Statement Initiative on Investment Facilitation for Development Authors: Rashmi Jose and Andreas Oeschger

This paper examines the ways in which negotiations under the Joint Statement Initiative on Investment Facilitation for Development take into account sustainable development aspects.

East Asia Forum - Can WTO talks revive global FDI? Authors: Simon J Evenett and Johannes Fritz, Global Trade Alert

Advancing global talks on investment facilitation has long been a goal of many governments in the Asia Pacific. During its G20 presidency in 2016, China gave the matter renewed priority. Since the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference in December 2017, diplomats in Geneva have been negotiating a multilateral framework for investment facilitation. These talks have advanced far enough that an ‘Easter text’ was circulated among negotiators this year. But even if a large enough fraction of the WTO membership signed this deal, would it make a difference?

ESF - Position Paper on WTO JSI on Investment Facilitation for Development The European Services Forum (ESF) suggests a non-exhaustive list of provisions that should be included in a WTO Investment Facilitation Agreement, with notably provisions on transparency, on the authorisation processes, on the independence of the regulatory bodies and the fight against corruption and calls on the largest number of WTO members to adopt the elements that will be included in the Investment Facilitation Agreement and to include them into their own national legislation governing foreign direct investment.

East Asia Forum - A multilateral investment facilitation agreement can help advance development Author: Karl P Sauvant, Columbia University

Negotiations for an Investment Facilitation Framework for Development are proceeding apace in the World Trade Organization (WTO) among over 100 of its members. The objective is to achieve a concrete outcome by the WTO’s Ministerial Conference beginning November 2021 in Geneva.

ICT/DIE - Investment Facilitation for Development: A toolkit for policymakers The publication includes lessons from negotiating and implementing relevant WTO agreements, an inventory of investment facilitation measures, as well as the proceedings of some 30 stakeholder consultations conducted under the ITC-DIE project on investment facilitation for development. Particular emphasis has been placed on the development dimension of investment facilitation.