ISDS Case Map
Argentina
Argentina has refused calls by Siemens to suspend proceedings at the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in which a committee is considering Argentina's request to revise a 2007 award, following the admission by the German firm that it had bribed Argentinean officials.
Mercosur presidential summit next week in Brazil has on the table an agenda of several highly sensitive issues that could deepen the rift between senior members Argentina and Brazil and junior members Paraguay and Uruguay, according to Uruguayan parliamentary sources.
As was anticipated Mercosur senior members Argentina and Brazil proposed Friday an increase of the common external tariff, (AEC) for certain products, and as was expected junior members Uruguay and Paraguay rejected the idea.
His Majesty King Abdullah and Argentinean President Cristina Kirchner on Wednesday discussed prospects for a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries. They said that Jordan's framework deal with MERCOSUR, a regional trade agreement between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, paves way for the FTA with Argentina.
Uruguay's Economy minister Danilo Astori criticized export taxes and complained the fact Mercosur has allowed Argentina to apply them when “we all know this is a simple manipulation of the economy” which also has political effects.
Amid the noisy battering the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) is taking from both Democratic presidential hopefuls, one recent statement from Hillary Clinton was particularly resonant. "We will have a very clear view of how we're going to review Nafta," the New York senator said. "We're going to take out the ability of foreign companies to sue us because of what we do to protect our workers."
Everything was in place for the beginning of the end of the long-running conflict: a friendlier face about to be sworn in as president in Argentina, a tiny bit of flexibility on the part of Uruguay, a few points of agreement, and a Spanish mediator appointed by the King.
Facing a flood of unfavorable arbitration rulings, Argentina is shifting from a legal strategy to a diplomatic one in a bid to dismiss billions of dollars in foreign investor claims arising from its 2002 financial crisis.
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington DC has awarded Sempra Energy approximately $172 million, including interest, to settle a 2002 dispute involving the company's 43-percent ownership in two Argentine natural gas holding companies, Sodigas Pampeana and Sodigas Sur.
French media and telecoms group Vivendi said on Tuesday it had been awarded $105 million in compensation at the end of a decade-long dispute with Argentinian authorities about a former water concession.
