Overlap between Trade and Investment

The Overlap between Trade and Investment is most evident in the service sector. For example, the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) expressly applies to measures affecting the supply of a service by a service supplier of one Member, through commercial presence in the territory of any other Member (Art. I.2(c)).

Research carried out by Dr Ortino compares the liberalization of foreign investment in services at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels. The aim of the research is two-fold. First, the study focuses on the patterns of the various international disciplines imposed on States for the liberalization and protection of foreign investment in the service field, in particular with the view of comparing multilateral disciplines under the GATS, on the one hand, and a few selected bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and free trade agreements (FTAs), on the other. The aim is to assess whether the latter achieve a higher level of liberalization (and protection) in the field of investment in services compared to the former.

Second, the study focuses on the linkages between bilateral and regional agreements and the WTO. In particular, the objective is to determine the level of coordination between the myriad of BITs and the multilateral regulation of foreign investment in services under the GATS.

A shorter version of the paper is published as a chapter in L Bartels & F Ortino (eds.), Regional Trade Agreements and the WTO Legal System (Oxford, OUP, 2006).