International Investment Protection: a Few Facts

Criticism of the EU's planned free trade agreement with Canada and the USA mainly focuses on its regulations related to investment protection. A look at the data reveals that the investors have far lower prospects of success than states in arbitration proceedings; and even if they do win, they only tend to receive a fraction of the amount they claim. The number of disputes has not risen disproportionately to foreign direct investments over time. Within the group of states where a high number of arbitration cases are heard, US investors are far less litigious than investors from other OECD countries, including Germany.