Political Quotes

“as the Senate debates the Andean Trade Preference Expansion Act, ATPEA, I wish to call attention to another issue vital to the long term success of the Andean nations in the world economy. International arbitration was created in order to mitigate the risks of overseas investment due to political consideration and capricious changes that can affect legal institutions. It gives investors and sovereign nations an agreed-upon mechanism to resolve disputes. Arbitration is a key building block to attract foreign investment, promote modernized legal systems, and provide for the kind of legal economy that we are seeking to foster with this legislation. For this reason, Congress stipulated in the recent Andean Trade Promotion Act, ATPA, that beneficiary countries were required to recognize as binding and enforce international arbitral awards in favor of U.S. citizens and companies. I am concerned that the U.S. Government has not done enough to ensure that one beneficiary in particular, Colombia, has lived up to this requirement. Before Congress passes new legislation on this matter, shouldn't we hold countries accountable for violating this criterion under the previous legislation? Unfortunately, Colombia has a disturbing trend of disregarding binding arbitration rulings. The Colombian Government has refused to abide by rulings of arbitration tribunals that are unfavorable, launching aggressive campaigns to undermine arbitration.”