In this ICSID Review—Foreign Investment Law Journal article, Lauren Mandell reviews the Trump Administration’s impact on US investment policy at the close of the administration and considers the challenges and opportunities that await future US policymakers in the executive and legislative branches with respect to US investment policy.
Excerpt: When Donald Trump was inaugurated as President of the United States on 20 January 2017, the new Administration’s approach to US investment policy—meaning, US policy regarding the promotion and protection of US investment abroad—was an open question. President Trump had not focused on US investment policy, including hot-button issues such as investor–State dispute settlement, during the presidential campaign, unlike his opponent. The President’s career in the private sector suggested that he might use his office to support foreign investment, including the negotiation of new investment agreements (bilateral investment treaties and free trade agreements addressing investment) with robust protections for foreign investors. On the other hand, the President’s ‘America First’ rhetoric and his well-known skepticism towards past approaches on foreign policy and international trade suggested that he might embrace the opposite view.
