ABSTRACT
This chapter presents how the creation of a multilateral trade regime has helped to bring about economic globalization and how in turn it has been influenced by globalization, as well as how the links between investment, trade and the environment were addressed. It examines the question whether the world about one century ago had the same or at least a very similar extent of trade integration as the current world. The economic and political changes towards a more investment-friendly global economy have been legally backed by a tremendous increase in Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), the objective of which is to grant foreign investors security and legally enforceable rights for their investments. Representatives from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries tried to base the plethora of BITs on a more multilateral basis in negotiating a Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) among themselves with the intent to persuade non-OECD countries to accede to the MAI.
