ISDS Case Map
telecommunications
The European Union could give away unlimited rights to foreign telecoms companies to buy up rivals in Europe as part of the proposed new transatlantic trade deal (TTIP). This is one of an astonishing set of proposals revealed in a Commission document leaked by the German newspaper Die Zeit last week.
This week, a Verizon representative speaking on a pro-TISA panel expressed the company’s hope that the “trade” deal can be used to keep privacy policies in check.
Recent disputes, including the GMR-Maldives government row and the clash between foreign telecom firms Telenor, Sistema, Etisalat and Vodafone and the Indian government, have exposed India's vulnerable position in investment agreements. While the foreign telecom companies can use a potent weapon - the 'investment protection' clause in bilateral treaties - against India, GMR cannot do the same with Maldives.
Malaysia headquartered Axiata Group, which holds about 20% stake in Idea Cellular has threatened claim damages and drag the Indian government to international arbitration under bilateral investment protection pacts (BIPA), making it the sixth international investor in the telecoms space to serve notice under bilateral trade agreements.
Malaysia and Australia signed a free trade agreement that will allow Malaysia to export all goods duty-free into Australia once the deal comes into force on January 1, 2013.
The Indian government is likely to oppose any move by Vodafone Plc to invoke the India-Netherlands Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPA) if it is forced to cough up Rs 12,000 crore in taxes on the grounds that the investment was routed through several step down firms based in different countries and that the treaty does not cover tax disputes.
Fearing the Indian government will use new tax laws to trap it back around Rs 12,000 crore in taxes, the world’s largest mobile operator, Vodafone, may invoke a bilateral investment treaty between India and the Netherlands to avoid doing so.
Norway's Telenor will seek 'compensation for all investment, guarantees and damages' if the Indian government fails to sort out issues related to its licence cancellation within the next six months, the company said.
Leaked documents from the Canada-European Union free trade talks suggest Ottawa is seeking to carve out telecommunications and agriculture from any agreement.
Google, Microsoft , Citigroup , IBM , GE and other top-tier American companies on Thursday urged the United States to fight for trade rules that protect the free flow of information over the Internet.
