Economic Law and Policy

How Could China’s New Foreign Investment Law Impact Trade Debate?

Sustainability and Second Life: The case for cobalt and lithium recycling

Touring Agricultural Investment Projects

About Economic Law and Policy

Our experts focus on areas of economic policy-making essential to sustainable development, including investment, trade, public procurement, infrastructure financing, and sustainability standards.

Our sector-specific work focuses on agriculture and mining in developing countries, given the urgency of the reforms needed and the impact on sustainable development.

IISD also serves as the secretariat to the Intergovermental Forum on Mining, Minerals Metals and Sustainable Development, a member-driven organization providing governments the opportunity to work collectively to achieve their sustainable mining goals.

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Blog

Blog

The USMCA Is Now in Force: How will it impact North American trade policy?

The new accord governs a multi-trillion dollar market and is expected to face heavy scrutiny within the three countries, especially during a U.S. election year.
Commentary

Commentary

Foreign Investment in Decline: An opportunity for more responsible and sustainable food systems

UNCTAD predicted last month that COVID-19 would cause a 40% drop in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2020. Developing regions will be the worst hit given their heavy reliance on extractive industries and global value chains, which have been impacted by the pandemic. A dramatic drop in FDI could worsen the situation and lead to a race to the bottom as low- and middle-income countries compete for dwindling levels of FDI in agriculture.
Report

Report

Global Market Report: Cotton

This report examines how voluntary sustainability standards are performing in the cotton sector.
Report

Report

Toward Strategic Public Procurement in Latin America and the Caribbean

This paper presents four best practice case studies and key ingredients of procurement reform to enable the shift toward strategic public procurement for sustainable development.
Newsletter

Newsletter

Investment Treaty News (ITN), Volume 11, Issue 2, June 2020

Investment Treaty News (ITN) is IISD’s flagship journal on international investment law and policy.
Report

Report

IGF Guidance for Governments: Improving legal frameworks for environmental and social impact assessment and management

This IGF guidance document offers governments a summary of international best practices in legal frameworks for environmental and social impact assessment and related management plans for large-scale mines.
Report

Report

Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) of Senegal’s Saloum Delta

The assessment provides an economic valuation of the contribution of the Saloum Delta to local livelihoods and regional development.
Commentary

Commentary

Ensuring a Balance of Power in the Face of COVID-19

Half the world’s population is subject to varying degrees of lockdown in an attempt to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Faced with an unprecedented crisis, should governments offer solutions that sidestep requirements of transparency, accountability, and responsibility?