US Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have announced that the United States and Mauritius will begin formal negotiations toward a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT).
Kirk and Clinton announced the launch of the BIT negotiations during the African Growth and Opportunity Act Forum in Nairobi, Kenya. The principle aims of the treaty would be to strengthen investor protections and encourage the continuation of market-oriented economic reforms in Mauritius.
"Mauritius is one of the most economically successful and politically stable countries in Africa. It has an impressive track record on democracy, economic growth, openness to foreign direct investment, economic diversification, and the expansion of trade,” said Kirk. “The proposed US-Mauritius BIT will help reinforce the efforts of one of Africa's strongest performers on trade and economic reform, and help improve Mauritius's already favourable investment climate by providing high standards of investment protection.”
The US administration is conducting a review of the US model BIT, which is expected to conclude later this year. This ongoing review is intended to ensure that the US model BIT is “consistent with the public interest and the overall US economic agenda.” Talks between the United States and Mauritius before the conclusion of the review will proceed at the technical level.
Bilateral investment treaties are legally binding treaties that provide significant legal protections for investors and investments in BIT partner countries. The US BIT program encourages the adoption of market-oriented domestic policies that treat private investment in an open, transparent, and non-discriminatory way. These protections have special importance in developing countries, where BITs help to increase investor confidence and thereby facilitate foreign investment and enhance economic growth.
The United States has five BITs in force in sub-Saharan Africa (with Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, the Republic of Congo, and Senegal) out of a total of 40 US BITs in force worldwide. In February 2008, the United States and Rwanda signed a BIT, which is currently pending Senate advice and consent.
In September 2006, the United States and Mauritius signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), which established a regular, high-level forum to address a wide range of trade and investment issues. The idea of negotiating a US-Mauritius BIT arose out of TIFA discussions.
.
Network Tweets Archive
| Resources | Partners
| Site Map | Links
| Newsletter
Archive | Contact
| RSS Feeds
About | Syndication |
Advertising & Marketing |
Recruitment |
Terms & Conditions |
Privacy
Copyright © 2012 - All Rights Reserved - Tax-News.com
All content provided by BSI Media
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Tax-News.com has taken reasonable care in sourcing and presenting the information contained on this site, but accepts no responsibility for any financial or other loss or damage that may result from its use. In particular, users of the site are advised to take appropriate professional advice before committing themselves to involvement in offshore jurisdictions, offshore trusts or offshore investments.
Write a comment