韩国国内有关韩美自由贸易协定ISD条款的争论及启示

韩国国内以朝野两党为代表的正反阵营不久前围绕韩美自由贸易协定(FTA)批准问题展开了激烈争论,而争论的焦点就是修改或废除FTA中的"投资者一国家争端解决机制"(ISD)条款,根源则是双方对ISD机制对韩国的影响作出了难以调和的对立性评估。对于正在迈入FTA时代和对外投资时代的中国来说,韩国国内的争论也有重要的参考价值。

The Debate in South Korea on the ISD Related Provisions in the KORUS FTA and Its Implications for China

The ruling and opposition parties of South Korea have been fiercely debating whether to conditionally approve the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement(FTA).The focus of the controversy is the abolition of the provisions related to Investor-State Dispute Settlement Mechanisms(ISD) in the Korea-US FTA, and its essence resulted from the two parties' opposing assessment of the ISD' s impact on South Korea. The debate in South Korea has many meaningful implications for China,which is preparing to negotiate more FTAs of its own,including that with South Korea.As China continues its era of foreign investment, such ISDs could be vitally important.