Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America

Abstract

Economic experts indicate that the investment prospects in Latin America and the Caribbean are not positive. They attribute the general negative trend in Latin America to a set of factors such as the continued economic recession, falling commodity prices, higher currency volatility, and uncertainty about economic policymaking – tax and trade policy – in the United States (US). While these macroeconomic data are highly relevant for investors interested in the Latin American region, they also have legal significance, as they offer guidelines for predicting in which economic sub-sectors investment claims may arise in the future, and on what possible legal grounds.

This vision for the future is often projected throughout the chapter. Its main objective is, however, the study of current legislative policies on investment in Latin American countries, and the main characteristics and legal consequences of the investment arbitration claims with which these states have been confronted to date. The fact that that investor-state dispute settlement’s (ISDS) recent past and present is characterized by its complicated relationship with some Latin American states in particular is common knowledge.

With these objectives in mind, this chapter is divided into five sections. After this brief introduction, Section 2 provides a succinct historical overview of international investment and ISDS in Latin America. Section 3 outlines Latin American countries’ main complaints regarding the current ISDS system, which necessarily refer to their critical view of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Section 4 takes a close look at the multifaceted legal opposition to ISDS in Latin American countries, and by way of a conclusion, Section 5 explores some initiatives that are currently providing inspiration for the future of investment dispute resolution in Latin America.

Keywords: Latin America, International Law, Foreign Direct Investment, International Arbitration, Investment Law

JEL Classification: K33, K30, K40, K41, C10, F02, F13, F21, F30, H77, E22, H87, K20, O10, K19