Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund

In the public discussions concerning the EU trade agreements with the USA (TTIP) and Canada (CETA), the planned regulations for the protection of foreign investors have emerged as a major focus of criticism. Special international investment treaties aren’t of course nothing new: over 3000 investment protection agreements are already in existence worldwide. However, firstly, such an agreement between the USA and the EU would create a completely new dimension in investor protection, as this would be the largest economic area in the world. Secondly, due to the public interest in the TTIP negotiations, for the first time in a long time it has become possible to highlight the problems involved in such investment protection treaties.