Digital Trade And Investment Screening: Friends Or Foes?

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - December 2023

By Murilo Lubambo, University College London Entry of Foreign Investments and Digital Trade  This blog post discusses how investment screening activities by states may have an impact on digital trade. In other words, to what extent does investment screening constitute a restriction that affects the integration of digital trade between countries on a global basis? …

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Austria – The Investment Control “Powerhouse”

By Dr. Regina Kröll and Dr. Johannes Barbist, Binder Grösswang Disclaimer: This post was first published on the Binder Grösswang Law Blog On 25 July 2020, the Austrian Investment Control Act (Investitionskontrollgesetz – ICA) entered into force and started a new era of foreign direct investment (FDI) screening in Austria. This report aims at providing…

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The notion of “security” in foreign trade law – Theory and Practice

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - December 2023

By Dr. Carsten Bormann, Oppenhoff & Partner* 1. Introduction: All about security? The screening of foreign direct investment has gradually evolved from the traditional protection of vital national security interests through the prevention of outsourcing and the drain of specialized technological capabilities to the protection of geostrategic interests and the enforcement of industrial strategies. The…

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The EU Anti-Coercion Instrument: Anti-What, Exactly?

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - December 2023

By Johannes Schäffer, Berlin School of Economics and Law* In February 2021, the Commission acknowledged the concerns of the Parliament and Member States regarding coercive practices by “certain third countries”. Having identified a regulatory gap, it committed to “examine a possible instrument, which could be adopted in order to dissuade or offset coercive actions by…

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The European Union’s Anti-Coercion Instrument – A Closer Look at Decision-Making under a Politicized Trade Instrument

CELIS Update on Investment Screening – May 2023

Author details on file with the editors. Introduction The European Union’s (EU, Union) Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI) is finally here. After an overwhelming majority vote by the European Parliament (EP) and the formal adoption by the Council, the ACI has now also made it into the Official Journal of the European Union. Regulation (EU) 2023/2675 (the…

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The Anti-Coercion Instrument – The Practical Repercussions of the ACI’s Entry into Force (Part II)

By Anh Nguyen, University of Amsterdam This is the second post in a two-part blog post providing an international law deep dive on practical repercussions of the ACI’s entry into force. This post will discuss international trade law perspectives on the ACI’s unilateral invocation of countermeasures. The previous post focused on general international law perspectives…

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