Germany: Review of foreign investments on national security and public policy grounds.
Description
On 18 April 2009 the German legislature passed the Thirteenth Law Amending the Foreign Trade Law and Foreign Trade Regulation. According to the OECD: "Germany amended its Foreign Trade and Payments Act (Außenwirtschaftsgesetz). The law establishes a review procedure, administered by the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Technology, for investments that threaten public policy or public security. The Ministry may prohibit acquisitions or subject them to mitigation measures. Reviews may be performed for investments by non-EU/non-EFTA investors that lead to a 25% or greater equity ownership. The procedure complements an existing review procedure that addresses only investments in certain military goods and cryptographic equipment; the new procedure is not limited to specific industries."
The stated purpose of this law is not to protect German commercial interests. Even so, the classification of a measure in the GTA database depends on whether the measure introduces or otherwise alters any asymmetric treatment between domestic and foreign commercial interests. This measure introduces an asymettry between certain foreign commercial interests and those of investors based in Germany, in the EU more generally, and in the EFTA states.
Any Evidence-Based Deliberation:
| Question | Result |
|---|---|
| Is there anything in the public record to suggest that evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed measure was considered during official deliberations? | Don't know |
| Is there any evidence that alternatives to the proposed measure were considered? | Don't Know |
| Is there anything in the public record that suggests that empirical evidence informed the comparison across the alternatives available to government? | Don't Know |
| Was such evidence identified? | Don't Know |
| Is such evidence publicly available? | Don't Know |
| Did the official decision-maker in question provide an explanation as to why a chosen measure was favoured over alternatives? | Don't Know |
| Is there any evidence to suggest that potentially affected trading partners were consulted before the measures were taken? | Don't Know |
| Is there any evidence that safeguards have been put in place to ensure that implementation of the initiative is transparent and non-discriminatory? | Don't Know |
| Did the government state its intention to review the measure within one year of implementation? | Don't Know |
Date Discovered: 09/09/2009
Implemented: Yes
Date of inception: 18 Apr 2009
GTA Evaluation: Red
Source:
The original law can be found at http://www.bmwi.de/BMWi/Redaktion/PDF/Gesetz/dreizehntes-gesetz-zur-aend...
The description by the OECD can be found in "STATUS REPORT: INVENTORY OF INVESTMENT MEASURES TAKEN BETWEEN 15 NOVEMBER 2008 AND 15 JUNE 2009."
Government Response:
- 652 reads
