MY TAKE on the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI)

1. This is an investment agreement. (NOT a trade deal. Not RCEP. No Trump purchase commitments.)

This is mostly about treatment of European firms operating on the ground in China (or Chinese firms in Europe)... https://twitter.com/Trade_EU/status/1344275254517116933

2. Details will matter. I look forward to reading the text.

The first points of comparison / potential overlap with US-China Phase One sound like they would be

• Forced Technology Transfer (Ch. 2)
• Financial Services (Ch. 4)

Phase One reminder https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/china-mongolia-taiwan/peoples-republic-china/phase-one-trade-agreement/text

3. Some of the new stuff in CAI of interest to me, obviously, involves other Level Playing Field issues.

What are the agreement's details on China's SOEs and SUBSIDIES commitments?

(a longstanding concern for the trading system and the United States)

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/STATEMENT_20_2546

4. But EU deals reference sustainable development. CAI mentions climate and labor standards, including forced labor (e.g., what does this mean for Xinjiang?)

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/STATEMENT_20_2546

4. Historical context.

EU only gained exclusive competence to negotiate over foreign investment when the 2009 Lisbon Treaty entered into force.

Some of CAI is to get an EU-wide deal to update member-state bilateral investment treaties with China... https://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/theme-a-balanced-and-progressive-trade-policy-to-harness-globalisation/file-eu-china-investment-agreement

5. Historical context (cont)

EU has been negotiating CAI with China since 2012.

NB: the Obama administration kicked-started US-China bilateral investment treaty talks in 2013 and those continued through 2016. (Before Trump took a different approach.) https://www.tradetalkspodcast.com/podcast/93-us-trade-policy-before-trump-with-ambassador-michael-froman/

6. I look forward to reading the CAI text.

(Please release it in 2021.)

ENDS / https://twitter.com/WeyandSabine/status/1344281563807289344?s=20