New BIT for Mauritius

Aug 7th, 2009 2:35 PM UTC
By Mikiko Imai

Yesterday, the U.S. announced that it had begun formal negotiations toward a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) with Mauritius (an island nation off the eastern coast of Africa). Bilateral investment treaties are legally binding treaties that provide significant legal protections for investors and investments in BIT partner countries. The announcement was made by U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the African Growth and Opportunity Act Forum in Nairobi, Kenya.

“The proposed U.S.-Mauritius BIT will help reinforce the efforts of one of Africa’s strongest performers on trade and economic reform, and help improve Mauritius’s already favorable investment climate by providing high standards of investment protection,” Mr. Kirk said in a statement. The U.S. already has five BITs in Africa (Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, the Republic of Congo, and Senegal), and in February 2008, the U.S. signed a BIT with Rwanda (still waiting for the Senate’s approval). The U.S. is also in current discussions about BIT’s with Ghana, Nigeria and Gabon.

According the U.S. government, U.S. companies had assets worth $2.9 billion invested at the end of 2007, an increase of 83 percent from 2006. Since 2004, the U.S. direct investment position in Mauritius has increased nearly 700 percent. The BIT could spur U.S. investments in Mauritius even more – this is important because these investments can employ Mauritian people and create valuable economic opportunities.

-Mikiko Imai

TAGS: Policy News