Making Trade & Investment Rules Work for Development: Overview
New trade and investment opportunities are growing, and innovative legal and institutional programming is needed to stimulate sustainable economic development. Over 350 bi-lateral and regional economic treaties and 2700 relatively new Bi-lateral Investment Treaties (BITs) make important economic commitments that can either foster or frustrate sustainable development. Markets are growing exponentially for fair trade goods and socially responsible investments. Developing countries are also refining their financial systems to track and reduce capital flight, regulate taxation and banking in more sustainable ways, and secure economic justice through legal empowerment of the poor. International treaties on sustainable development are increasingly using trade, investment and financial mechanisms to achieve their aims. IDLO leads cutting-edge new legal programming on sustainable development in world trade, investment and financial law. Technical assistance can be provided for legal and regulatory reforms to secure new opportunities by facilitating compliance with treaty obligations for sustainable economic development.

Trade & Investment Laws for Sustainable Development: IDLO’s Approach
IDLO’s Trade and Investment Law programming employs unique systematically identifies legal and governance barriers to implementation of sustainable economic development treaties; provides legal and regulatory training and technical assistance for implementation; and implements consensus-based solutions tailored uniquely for each recipient country.

Securing Fair Trade & Sustainable Investment: IDLO’s Strategic Focus
Sustainable International Investment Law: Improving countries legislative frameworks in order to negotiate and comply with sustainable development aspects of international treaties, including Bi-lateral Investment Treaties. International Trade Law for Sustainable Economic Development: Strengthening national legislative frameworks for negotiation and compliance with development aspects of international treaties such as the WTO Agreements, Economic Partnership Agreements, Free Trade Agreements and regional economic unions, and to facilitate access to fast-growing ‘Fair Trade’ markets.

Moving Forward Together: Key Partnerships