Govt looks to onboard consultants amid work on investment treaties

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is in the process of hiring a consultant to advise the government on identifying sectors where the rules of international investment treaties will not be applied.
 

Identifying such sectors will help India "preserve policy space," despite making commitments in the main text of the treaty's chapter.
 

These treaties are in the form of either a standalone investment treaty, like a bilateral investment treaty (BIT), or an investment chapter (IC) within a free trade agreement (FTA).  
 

“DPIIT being the nodal department for formulation of FDI (foreign direct investment) policy and investment screening leads the negotiations on investment chapters within free trade agreements (FTAs) on non-services sectors. The chapter on investment liberalisation is accompanied by a "reservation list" which allows host countries to restrict the commitments to specific sectors/activities,” according to the request for proposal floated by DPIIT.
 

India is currently negotiating a bunch of trade agreements and also holding discussions on a separate investment agreement with countries such as the United Kingdom, and the European Union.

Experts believe that the reservation list could see sectors such as defence and public procurement where India has its own sensitivities.
 

The consulting agency could be a law firm, think tank, or a research institution, and will have to participate in stakeholder consultations for enabling DPIIT to finalise the list of sectors.

Besides attracting FDI, international investment treaties are aimed at creating an institutional legal framework for taking up claims of foreign investors according to international law.  
 

“It is for the purpose of preparation of the reservation list on investment liberalisation in non-services sector in international investment treaties, that this call for request for proposals (RFP) from various firms in India has been invited by DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, GOI,” it said.