U.S. Web of Capital Control Limits: Although many countries have used capital controls effectively to address financial market volatility, 52 national governments lack the power to control money flows across their borders as the result of U.S. trade pacts or bilateral investment treaties.
IMF Learned from Asian Crisis, U.S. Didn’t: The International Monetary Fund abandoned its blanket opposition to capital controls after some countries used this tool to avoid the worst effects of the Asian financial crisis that erupted in 1997. The U.S. government forged ahead, initiating agreements restricting capital controls with 22 more countries. Such restrictions are also in the pending U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.
Investors Can Sue for Compensation: Countries that violate these restrictions face potentially expensive lawsuits by foreign investors. In the supra-national arbitration tribunals that handle such cases, there’s no public accountability, no standard judicial ethics rules, and no appeals process.
Policy Handcuffs are Inherited: Of the 52 leaders who are now bound to such agreements, only 13 were in office at the time their country’s agreement was signed. In Bolivia, Ecuador, and several other countries, government leaders are working to develop alternative models for governing international investment and finance.
Opportunities under new U.S. Administration: President Barack Obama has committed to revising the investment rules in U.S. free trade agreements, along with other proposed trade policy reforms. The IPS report lays out five key opportunities for change, including renegotiating trade agreements and bilateral investment treaties, rolling back World Trade Organization commitments on financial deregulation, and reforming World Bank and IMF policies.
According to report author Anderson, “It’s critical that policymakers not only eliminate capital control restrictions, but also commit to building a new global framework that allows governments to play responsible roles in ensuring that foreign investment and finance support social goals.”
The report “Policy Handcuffs in the Financial Crisis: How U.S. Trade and Investment Policies Limit Government Power to Control Capital Flows” is available online at: http://www.ips-dc.org/reports/#1056