Articles and Book Chapters

Category: Policy and Advisory


  • China’s Regulatory Framework for Outward Foreign Direct InvestmentKarl P. Sauvant and Victor Z. Chen, China Economic Journal, Volume 7, No 1, pp. 141-163., 2014-02
  • New UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules on Transparency: Application, Content and Next StepsLise Johnson, Investment Treaty News, IISD, 2013-09-18
  • Memo to the Obama Administration on the Burma Responsible Investment Reporting Requirements 2013-09-05 [+]
    In September 2013, the VCC sent a memo to President Obama and his Administration in response to the first public reports submitted by U.S. companies in compliance with the Burma Responsible Investment Reporting Requirements. The memo applauded the U.S. Government’s efforts to encourage responsible investment in Burma, noting that robust due diligence is essential to ensuring that international investments contribute to sustainable development. Yet the memo also urged the Obama Administration to take steps to strengthen future reporting. In particular, the VCC urged the Administration to issue clarifying guidance that any U.S. investor submitting a report should (1) provide information on due diligence policies and procedures related to land rights, and (2) provide thorough information in response to each reporting question, regardless of whether its investments are “passive.”
  • Why the Extractive Industry Should Support Mandatory Transparency: A Shared Value ApproachJulien Topal and Perrine Toledano, Business and Society Review, Volume 118, Issue 3, pp. 271–298, 2013-09
  • New UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules on Transparency: Application, Content and Next StepsLise Johnson, Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, 2013-08-30
  • On Solid Ground: Toward Effective Resource-Based DevelopmentLisa Sachs, World Politics Review, 2013-08-06
  • The 2012 US Model BIT and What the Changes (or Lack Thereof) Suggest About Future Investment TreatiesLise Johnson, Political Risk Insurance Newsletter, 2012-11
  • Submissions to UNCITRAL Working Group II on Arbitration and Conciliation 2012-10-12 [+]
    Most investment treaties grant investors the procedural right to bring claims against governments through investor-state arbitration. Under the arbitration rules that commonly govern the proceedings, including the arbitration rules developed by a United Nations body, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), these disputes can remain hidden from public view from their commencement through conclusion. Recognizing the public interest in investor-state arbitration, UNCITRAL has been working since 2010 to develop a legal standard that would ensure transparency in investor-state arbitration. Committed to the belief that transparency in investor-state arbitration is fundamental for accountability, good governance, and the rule of law, elements which are, in turn, crucial for sustainable development, the VCC has been participating in the UNCITRAL process and has drafted various notes and proposals in support of the effort to increase public access to information regarding these disputes. In October 2012, the VCC and partners submitted two documents to country delegations to UNCITRAL: a background note describing and analyzing the key issues involved in UNCITRAL’s work to increase transparency in investor-state arbitrations, and a proposal for specific text that UNCITRAL could adopt. Based on developments in October 2012, in February 2013, the VCC submitted additional comments on UNCITRAL’s efforts to ensure transparency of investor-state arbitration. In July 2013, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) adopted its Rules on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration. The Rules on Transparency offer a carefully negotiated and widely approved template for how to conduct investor-state arbitrations in a way that is consistent with the global recognition of the importance of transparency as a tool for promoting effective democratic participation, good governance, accountability, predictability and the rule of law. This fall, UNCITRAL will prepare a convention to facilitate wide application of the new rules to UNCITRAL and non-UNCITRAL arbitrations under existing and future treaties. The VCC, together with the Center for International Environmental Law and International Institute for Sustainable Development, has prepared a paper describing the new Rules on Transparency and UNCITRAL’s next steps.
  • Slouching toward Rio, op. ed.Shefa Siegel, Haaretz, 2012-06-08
  • Why good governance of land and tenure security need to be part of the Sustainable Development Goal framework 2012-01 [+]
    The VCC and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network’s Thematic Group on Good Governance of Extractive and Land Resources published a short briefing note on including land governance in the Sustainable Development Goal framework. The note argues that incorporating good governance of land and tenure security would help meet a number of proposed sustainable development goals for the post-2015 development agenda, including reducing poverty, strengthening food security, empowering women, and alleviating commercial pressures on land. The note recommends the inclusion of an access-to-land indicator to help measure governments’ efforts.
  • Memo to the SEC on the Proposed Rule on Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction IssuersPerrine Toledano, 2011-12-16 [+]
    The Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment strongly supports the transparency of contracts and tax flows. As many stakeholders in the field, the VCC’s belief is that transparency is essential so that a) governments can assess whether their contracts and laws are fair and comparable in terms and benefits to those in other countries with similar endowments; b) communities and civil society can assess how the risks, benefits and responsibilities are allocated among the various stakeholders, and c) governments and investors can be held accountable for their commitments. Guided by this belief, the VCC decided to establish the business case for transparency. The objective is to support the collective effort seeking to inform the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) as it moves forward with the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which requires all US listed companies to report detailed payments to governments on a country and project-by-project basis in all countries of operation.
  • Wider role for our miners in AfricaLisa Sachs, Joel Negin and Glenn Denning, The Australian Financial Review, 2011-08-31
  • Zambezi Valley Development Study 2011-06-01 [+]
    In June 2011, the Vale Columbia Center released a consultative draft report on Resource-Based Sustainable Development in the Lower Zambezi Basin, the result of a year-long inquiry into how the vast resource deposits in Tete province, combined with other major investments along the Nacala and Beira corridors, can be the basis for sustainable, equitable and inclusive growth in the Lower Zambezi Basin. The report recommends a framework of actions by Mozambique and its public and private partners to ensure that Mozambique reaps a major boost to economic development from its vast resource endowments, while also respecting the profitability of private-sector investments in these important projects. In short, the report aims for a “win-win” arrangement in which all stakeholders, public and private, derive benefits from the mining sector in Tete Province. The consultative draft was presented in Mozambique in June 2011 to serve as the basis for discussion, comment, and engagement with the range of stakeholders- government, private sector, development partners, regional banks, and civil society. Comments are welcome on the report. The Vale COlumbia Center looks forward to working with stakeholders in the region on implementation.
  • The regulatory framework for investment: where are we headed?Karl P. Sauvant, in Ravi Ramamurti and Niron Hashai, eds., The Future of Foreign Direct Investment and the Multinational Enterprise (Emerald Group Publishing: 2011), pp. 407-433, 2011 [+]
    See also the table of contents and front matter, or visit the Emerald Bookstore for ordering information.
  • Interview with Karl P. Sauvant in O Globo.Danielle Nogueira, O Globo - Economia, 2010-11-22
  • We must guard against growing protectionism, op. ed.Karl P. Sauvant, Shanghai Daily, 2009-08-04 [+]
    This op. ed. (also published as Beware of FDI Protectionism) also appeared in Les Echos (Mali), Joong Ang Ilbo and The Korea Times (Republic of Korea), Al Eqtisadiah (Saudi Arabia), Al Watan Daily and Al Jarida (Kuwait), Al Mal (United Arab Emirates), Jornal De Negocios (Portugal), The Edge (Malaysia), Business World (Philippines), I Naftemporiki (Greece), Business Day (Nigeria), South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), Jakarta Post (Indonesia), L’Echo (Belgium), Poslovni Dnevnik (Croatia), Aripaev (Estonia), L’Agefi (Switzerland), Ekonomichna Pravda (Ukraine), and Peru Economico (Peru).
  • Watch out for the rise of protectionism in FDIKarl P. Sauvant, Letter to the Editor, Financial Times, 2009-03-14
  • Memo to the Obama Administration on “Improving the International Investment Regime”Karl P. Sauvant, 2009-01-29 [+]
    In January 2009, VCC sent a Memo to President Obama’s Administration on “Improving the international investment regime.” The Memo encourages the new Administration to take a look at the current international investment regime and consider several actions that the United States might take to strengthen that regime. A number of these ideas are already on the table, and the new Administration will have to be prepared, in one way or another, to deal with them. Several eminent colleagues at Columbia University signed on to the Memo.
  • Without investment, the countries have nothing to tradeKarl P. Sauvant, Letter to the Editor, Financial Times, 2006-12-27
  • We need to think about policy implications of integrationKarl P. Sauvant, Letter to the Editor, Financial Times, 2006-06-14