Nevertheless, the risk of investment protectionism has increased as restrictive investment measures and administrative procedures have accumulated over the past years.

With close to 6,100 treaties, many ongoing negotiations and multiple dispute-settlement mechanisms, it has come close to a point where it is too big and complex to handle for governments and investors alike, yet remains inadequate to cover all possible bilateral investment relationships (which would require a further 14,100 bilateral treaties). The policy discourse about the future orientation of the IIA regime and its development impact is intensifying.

The challenge is to manage this interaction so that the two policies work together for development. Striking a balance between building stronger domestic productive capacity on the one hand and avoiding investment and trade protectionism on the other is key, as is enhancing international coordination and cooperation.

Governments can maximize development benefits deriving from these standards through appropriate policies, such as harmonizing corporate reporting regulations, providing capacitybuilding programmes, and integrating CSR standards into international investment regimes.

Policymakers need to consider non-equity modes (NEMs) of international production, such as contract manufacturing, services outsourcing, contract farming, franchising, licensing, management contracts, and other types of contractual relationship through which TNCs coordinate the activities of host-country firms, without owning a stake in those firms.

It is estimated to have generated over $2 trillion of sales in 2009. Contract manufacturing and services outsourcing accounted for $1.1–1.3 trillion, franchising $330–350 billion, licensing $340–360 billion, and management contracts around $100 billion. In most cases, NEMs are growing more rapidly than the industries in which they operate.

They employ an estimated 14–16 million workers in developing countries. Their value added represents up to 15 per cent of GDP in some economies. Their exports account for 70–80 per cent of global exports in several industries. Overall, NEMs can support long-term industrial development by building productive capacity, including through technology dissemination and domestic enterprise development, and by helping developing countries gain access to global value chains.

Employment in contract manufacturing can be highly cyclical and easily displaced. The value added contribution of NEMs can appear low if assessed in terms of the value captured out of the total global value chain. Concerns exist that TNCs may use NEMs to circumvent social and environmental standards. And to ensure success in longterm industrial development, developing countries need to mitigate the risk of remaining locked into low-value-added activities and becoming overly dependent on TNC-owned technologies and TNC-governed global value chains.

Maximizing development benefits from NEMs requires action in four areas. First, NEM policies need to be embedded in overall national development strategies, aligned with trade, investment and technology policies and addressing dependency risks. Second, governments need to support efforts to build domestic productive capacity to ensure the availability of attractive business partners that can qualify as actors in global value chains. Third, promotion and facilitation of NEMs requires a strong enabling legal and institutional framework, as well as the involvement of investment promotion agencies in attracting TNC partners. Finally, policies need to address the negative consequences and risks posed by NEMs by strengthening the bargaining power of local NEM partners, safeguarding competition, protecting labour rights and the environment.