On 18 January 2024, Steptoe and the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) held a launch event for their joint empirical study on performance requirement prohibitions (PRPs) in international investment agreements (IIAs) (recording and publication available here). The main focus of this empirical study is PRPs.  PRPs are a distinct type of treaty provisions that appear in many IIAs and that seek to curtail States’ ability to impose performance requirements. According to UNCTAD, performance requirements are “stipulations, imposed on investors, requiring them to meet ..read more

On 23 October 2023, the European Council adopted a regulation known as the Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), a new trade instrument which will enable the European Union (EU) and its Member States to respond to so-called ‘economic blackmail’ from foreign countries that seek to influence or coerce the EU or a particular Member State to adopt or to decline a specific policy.  The European Parliament had already approved the regulation earlier this month by a margin of 578 votes to 24 and only 19 abstentions. The ACI breaks new ground in the EU’s arsenal of trade defences in the midst of escala ..read more

On 7 July 2023 the European Commission published a formal proposal for the withdrawal of the European Union (EU) from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT or the Treaty).  The move comes after many years of intensive efforts (notably by the EU) to modernize the ECT, in response to concerns that the Treaty prevented ECT Contracting States from meeting their climate change mitigation obligations as set out in the Paris Agreement.  The European Commission’s current proposal leaves much to be desired in terms of clarity and legal certainty.  Energy companies covered by the ECT should ther ..read more

The United Kingdom (UK) is officially set to sign the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) at the CPTPP Ministerial-level Meeting, which is scheduled to take place on 15-16 July 2023 in Auckland, New Zealand. As we previously reported, the UK will be the first country to accede to the CPTPP outside the original signatories States.  The decision to accede comes on the heels of Chile officially joining the CPTPP in February of this year.  Other States Parties to the CPTPP include Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru ..read more

The members of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) reached a significant milestone at the IPEF Ministerial Meeting in Detroit, Michigan with the substantial conclusion of negotiations on a landmark Supply Chain Agreement. This agreement, involving all 14 IPEF member countries, is aimed at fortifying the resilience, efficiency, and inclusivity of their supply chains through a combination of collaborative activities and individual actions. The agreement lays the foundation for improving supply chain resilience and transparency, as well as enhancing public-private cooperation and business ..read more

On April 28, 2023, the Secretariats of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) published the final draft of the Code of Conduct for Arbitrators in International Investment Disputes (the Code of Conduct). The draft concludes nearly six years of heated debates concerning two primary issues: disclosure obligations for arbitrators sitting on investment treaty tribunals; and “double-hatting,” (i.e., where a lawyer sits as arbitrator while at the same time acting as counsel in other investment trea ..read more

Introduction On April 12, 2023, the High Court of Australia (High Court) rendered a unanimous judgment affirming that a foreign state was not immune from proceedings seeking recognition and enforcement of an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) arbitral award.  This landmark decision provides welcome guidance on the interaction between Australia’s sovereign immunity regime and its international arbitration legislation implementing the ICSID Convention. Infrastructure Services Luxembourg S.à.r.l. and Energia Termosolar B.V. v. Kingdom of Spain (ICSID Case No ..read more

The United Kingdom’s (U.K.) accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans‑Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) might have been a bumpy ride, but it will soon come to fruition.  While all eyes are on the trade implications of the CPTPP, another component of the CPTPP that is getting comparatively little attention – the CPTPP treaty provisions on investment – may turn out to have a much greater impact for the United Kingdom. The accession process began when the U.K. submitted its formal request to accede to the CPTPP on February 1, 2021.  The U.K. achieved a major milestone ..read more

On 1 March 2023, the EU’s General Court delivered its judgment in Case T‑540/20, Jushi Egypt for Fiberglass Industry v Commission, ruling that the EU’s anti-subsidy Regulation does not preclude the countervailing of subsidies that are granted by a foreign state to companies in a third country, which can be attributed to the government of the country of origin or export of the products concerned. The Court’s ruling confirmed the Commission’s interpretation in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/870, which imposed a definitive countervailing duty on imports of continuous filament glass fibre produ ..read more

On February 21, 2023, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans‑Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) formally entered into force for Chile, after undergoing an intense, four-year legislative process.  The CPTPP covers the full range of modern trade agreements, including market access for goods and services, public procurement disciplines, temporary entry, and investment protection, among others.  Despite the CPTPP’s entry into force, the future of investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) in Chile remains a point of controversy. Chile and the CPTPP Eleven countries signed the CPTPP ..read more