Foreign Investment Flow Trends

According to the 2004 edition of International Investment Perspectives published by the OECD, flows from OECD countries to developing and emerging economies held up well in 2003, increasing to US$576 billion from US$567 billion in 2002.

In contrast, FDI flows to OECD countries declined again in 2003, with North America being particularly hard hit. Finally, the 2004 report raises questions about the mutual consistency of commitments in regional and bilateral investment agreements, which have proliferated over the last decade. These are strikingly important issues for our consideration.