New International Investment Agreements
Determinants and Effects of a Brazilian Innovation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5380/cg.v14i2.98854Keywords:
Foreign direct investment (FDI), Bilateral investment treaties (BITs), Investment Cooperation and Facilitation Agreements (ACFIs).Abstract
In light of the still incipient literature on the transformations of the global governance regime of foreign investment, this article explores the determinants and effects of Brazil's new Investment Cooperation and Facilitation Agreements (ACFIs) over the past decade. Regarded as an institutional innovation, Brazilian ACFIs differ from traditional Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), whose legitimacy has been increasingly questioned. Using regression models estimated with panel data, the article presents the following results: (1) one of the most relevant determinants for Brazil's ACFI partners is whether the country in question is a major destination for subsidiaries of Brazilian companies; (2) ACFIs do not appear to significantly increase FDI flows between the parties, but there is suggestive evidence that they may promote flows of trade in intermediate goods, thereby strengthening global value chains. This article addresses a cutting-edge topic in the field of International Relations by focusing on the heterogeneity of interests and power capabilities of individual companies as non-state actors, and by extending this analysis to the realm of foreign investment governance.
References
ALLEE, T.; PEINHARDT, C. Contingent Credibility: The Impact of Investment Treaty Violations on Foreign Direct Investment. International Organization, vol. 65, n. 3, p. 401–432, 2011.
BERBERT, C. F. Reduzindo o Custo de Ser Estrangeiro: O Apoio do Itamaraty à Internacionalização de Empresas Brasileiras. Brasília: Fundação Alexandre de Gusmão, 2018.
BERGER, A.; GSELL, S.; OLEKSEYUK, Z. Investment Facilitation for Development: A New Route to Global Investment Governance. Bonn: German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), 2019. Briefing Paper, n. 5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.23661/bp5.2019. Acesso em: 02 out. 2024.
BRADA, J. C.; DRABEK, Z.; IWASAKI, I. Does Investor Protection Increase Foreign Direct Investment? a Meta-Analysis. Journal of Economic Surveys, vol. 35, p. 34–70, 2021.
CAMPELLO, D.; LEMOS, L. The non-ratification of bilateral investment treaties in Brazil: a story of conflict in a land of cooperation. Review of International Political Economy, vol. 22, n. 5, p. 1055-1086, 2015.
CHI, M. Investment Facilitation and Sustainable Development: Insufficiencies and Improvements of ASEAN Investment Treaties. Journal of International Economic Law, vol. 25, n. 4, p. 611–626, 2022.
CHINN, M. D.; ITO, H. A New Measure of Financial Openness. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, vol. 10, n. 3, p. 309–322, 2008.
CNI. O Modelo Brasileiro de Acordos de Cooperação e Facilitação de Investimentos: Propostas de Aprimoramento. 2020. Brasília: Confederação Nacional da Indústria, 2020. Disponível em: https://www.portaldaindustria.com.br/publicacoes/2020/12/o-modelo-brasileiro-de-acordos-de-cooperacao-e-facilitacao-de-investimentos-propostas-de-aprimoramento/. Acesso em: 02 out. 2024.
CODEÇO, R. R.; FREITAS, A. R. Multilateral Framework of Investment Facilitation at the WTO: Initiatives and Perspectives from the Global South. Contexto Internacional, vol. 43, n. 2, p. 305–329, 2021.
FERNANDES, É. C.; FIORATI, J. J. Os ACFIs e os BITs assinados pelo Brasil: Uma análise comparada. Revista de Informação Legislativa, vol. 52, n. 208, p. 247–276, 2015.
FUKUNAGA, Y. Kluwer Arbitration BlogISDS Under the CPTPP and Beyond: Japanese Perspectives, 2018. Disponível em: https://arbitrationblog.kluwerarbitration.com/2018/05/30/isds-cptpp-beyond-japanese-perspectives/; Acesso em: 16 jun. 2025.
GARCIA, A. S.; PEREIRA, R. C. Political economy of South–South relations: an analysis of BRICS’ investment protection agreements in Latin America and the Caribbean. Third World Quarterly, vol. 44, n. 1, p. 57–75, 2023.
GARCIA, A. S.; TORRES, G. As Relações Brasil-África e o Regime Internacional de Investimentos: Uma Análise do ACFI do Brasil com Angola e Moçambique: Texto para Discussão 2671. Brasília: Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada, 2021.
GRAY, J. International European Organization Union Accession as a Seal of Approval : European Union Accession and Investor Risk. American Journal of Political Science, vol. 53, p. 931–949, 2009.
HAFTEL, Y. Z. Ratification Counts: US Investment Treaties and FDI Flows into Developing Countries. Review of International Political Economy, vol. 17, p. 348–377, 2010.
HAFTEL, Y. Z.; KIM, S. Y.; BASSAN-NYGATE, L. High-Income Developing Countries, FDI Outflows and the International Investment Agreement Regime. World Trade Review, vol. 21, n. 1, p. 1–17, 2022.
JOHNS, L.; THRALL, C.; WELLHAUSEN, R. L. Judicial economy and moving bars in international investment arbitration. The Review of International Organizations, vol. 15, n. 4, p. 923–945, 2020.
KIM, I. S. Political Cleavages within Industry: Firm-level Lobbying for Trade Liberalization. American Political Science Review, vol. 111, n. 1, p. 1–20, 2017.
KIM, I. S. et al. Firms and Global Value Chains: Identifying Firms’ Multidimensional Trade Preferences. International Studies Quarterly, vol. 63, n. 1, p. 153–167, 2019.
KIM, I. S.; MILNER, H. V. Multinational Corporations and their Influence Through Lobbying on Foreign Policy. p. 1–37, 2019. Disponível em: https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Kim_Milner_manuscript.pdf; Acesso em: 16 jun. 2025.
KIM, I. S.; OSGOOD, I. Firms in Trade and Trade Politics. Annual Review of Political Science, vol. 22, n. 1, p. 1–19, 2019.
MARTINS, J. H. V. Investment Treaty News: Brazil’s Cooperation and Facilitation Investment Agreements (CFIA) and Recent Developments, 2017. Disponível em: https://www.iisd.org/itn/2017/06/12/brazils-cooperation-facilitation-investment-agreements-cfia-recent-developments-jose-henrique-vieira-martins/; Acesso em: 16 jun. 2025.
MOEHLECKE, C. The Chilling Effect of International Investment Disputes: Limited Challenges to State Sovereignty. International Studies Quarterly, vol. 64, n. 1, p. 1–12, 2020.
MOEHLECKE, C.; THRALL, C.; WELLHAUSEN, R. L. Global Value Chains as a Constraint on Sovereignty: Evidence from Investor–State Dispute Settlement. International Studies Quarterly, vol. 67, n. 1–16, 2023.
MOEHLECKE, C.; WELLHAUSEN, R. L. Political Risk and International Investment Law. Annual Review of Political Science, vol. 25, n. 1, p. 485–507, 2022.
MONEBHURRUN, N. Novelty in International Investment Law: The Brazilian Agreement on Cooperation and Facilitation of Investments as a Different International Investment Agreement Model. Journal of International Dispute Settlement, vol. 8, n. 1, p. 79-100, 2016.
MORAES, H. C.; HEES, F. Breaking the BIT Mold: Brazil’s Pioneering Approach to Investment Agreements. AJIL Unbound, vol. 112, p. 197–201, 2018.
MOROSINI, F.; BADIN, M. R. S. Reconceptualizing International Investment Law from the Global South. London: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
PANDYA, S. S. Political Economy of Foreign Direct Investment: Globalized Production in the Twenty-First Century. Annual Review of Political Science, vol. 19, n. 1, p. 455–475, 2016.
POULSEN, L. The Investment Treaty Regime. In: PEVEHOUSE, J.; SEABROOKE, L. (Eds.). The Oxford Handbook of International Political Economy. Oxford University Press, 2021.
POULSEN, L. N. S.; AISBETT, E. When the Claim Hits: Bilateral Investment Treaties and Bounded Rational Learning. World Politics, vol. 65, n. 2, p. 273–313, 2013.
PUIG, S.; SHAFFER, G. Imperfect alternatives: Institutional choice and the reform of investment law. American Journal of International Law, vol. 112, p. 361–409, 2018.
TANG, Y. Investment Facilitation for Development and the Reform of International Investment Dispute Settlement Mechanism: The Choice of Developing Countries. Journal of International Dispute Settlement, vol. 13, n. 4, p. 643–664, 2022.
TIENHAARA, K. et al. Investor-state disputes threaten the global green energy transition. Science, vol. 376, n. 6594, p. 701–703, 2022.
UNCTAD. World Investment Report: Investment Facilitation and Digital Government, 2024. Disponível em: https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/wir2024_en.pdf; Acesso em: 16 jun. 2025.
VIDIGAL, G.; STEVENS, B. Brazil’s New Model of Dispute Settlement for Investment: Return to the Past or Alternative for the Future? The Journal of World Investment & Trade, vol. 19, n. 3, p. 475–512, 2018.
YACKEE, J. W. How much do U.S. corporations know (and care) about bilateral investment treaties? Some hints from new survey evidence. 2010. Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment. Disponível em: https://ccsi.columbia.edu/content/no-31-how-much-do-us-corporations-know-and-care-about-bilateral-investment-treaties-some; Acesso em: 16 jun. 2025.
YAN, Y. Anti-corruption provisions in international investment agreements: Investor obligations, sustainability considerations, and symmetric balance. Journal of International Economic Law, vol. 23, n. 4, p. 989-1013, 2020.
YAN, Y. Returning the Home State to the Global Anti-Corruption Campaign. Journal of International Dispute Settlement, vol. 14, n. 4, p. 469-487, 2023.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Conjuntura Global (ISSN 2317 - 6563) editors reserve the right to adapt the submissions to the journal's editorial standard format. The articles and reviews are under the responsibility of their authors and do not express the opinion of Conjuntura Global's editors.
Authors who publish in this journal agree with the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), that allows the work to be shared with recognition of authorship and initial publication in this journal;
- Authors are allowed to assume additional contracts separately, for the non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in this journal (e.g., to publish in an institutional repository or as a book chapter), with recognition of authorship and initial publication in this journal;
- The approval of the submission automatically implies the authorization to Conjuntura Global to forward the relevant information to the scientific journals' indexing databases.
