The implementation costs of investment facilitation framework

In contrast to the negotiation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) where Members expressly indicated that negotiations on trade facilitation “shall also address the concerns of developing and least developed countries related to cost implications of proposed measures”, there has not yet been a similar commitment by negotiating Members during the Investment Facilitation Framework (IFF) negotiation. In the latest IFF proposed text from October 2020, the negotiating parties have only hinted to this issue as far as saying “the extent and the timing of implementation of the provisions of this framework shall be related to the implementation capacities of developing and least-developed country Members”. This could indicate that negotiations on investment facilitation shall also address the concerns of developing and least developed countries related to cost implications of the proposed measures. Following the previous two studies by the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut fur Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) to quantify the current level of implementation of investment facilitation measures and the potential gains from the IFF, this study focuses on quantifying the cost associated with implementing such measures. Providing reassurance about the expenses and challenges that the implementation of IFF measures may entail, is a crucial issue during the negotiations in particular for developing and least developed countries.