ABSTRACT
International investment and trade have a new purpose: having previously focused on profits, they are now about domination and power. This new goal places developing countries in a constant struggle to catch up with the modernisation of economic competition in the wider world. The liberalisation of trade not only comes in the form of a set of rules produced by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) but also in the form of regional or bilateral agreements. Recent debates in Indonesia have concerned the declaration by the country’s president of the intention to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). One pertinent issue in the TPP involves the investment chapter, which has started to raise concerns from countries with bad experiences of bilateral investment treaties. Joining the TPP could present a future risk for Indonesia if we consider its recent experiences of the settlement of investment disputes. This paper will explain the risks for Indonesia in joining the TPP in relation to the investment chapter and the application of the same investor–state dispute settlement, making the outcome of future dispute predictable. This research was conducted by using a qualitative method and a deductive approach to provide a comprehensive understanding of the issue presented.
