North America

This chapter explores the experiences of North American countries with respect to international investment law, agreements and policy. The common experiences of three of the countries comprising North America – Canada, the United States of America and the United Mexican States – has profoundly impacted the development of the international investment regime, namely, but by no means exclusively, vis-à-vis the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Individually, each country’s approach has also impacted – and continues to shape the future landscape of – the investment regime. This chapter focuses on those three countries in depth, although it may also briefly touch on the international investment regime policies of other countries in North America. In so doing, the chapter explains the convergence of the three countries’ FDI objectives, as well as discusses lessons learned from the NAFTA and developments that followed. Moreover, the current status of the countries’ investment regimes and challenges facing the North American countries are discussed.