US CEOs Call on Obama, Jinping to Make Substantive Progress on Investment Treaty
A group of nearly 100 American CEOs called on President Barack Obama and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to make progress in Bilateral Investment Treaty negotiations during Jinping’s upcoming Washington summit, in a Sept. 14 letter to the leaders. A “high-standard”…
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BIT should include minimal exceptions “with clear provisions providing equal treatment to each other’s investors,” said the letter (here). Both sides previously said they planned to float proposals on those exceptions, referred to as the “negative list,” in early 2015. But U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman in April said no progress had been made, and since then the U.S. has not issued public declarations on any headway (see 1504280015). The letter, which was promoted by the U.S.-China Business Council, includes Tim Cook, Warren Buffet, Michael Bloomberg and other high-profile business leaders as signatories. The summit is scheduled to take place later in September.