In 2019 the WU GTPC launched a joint research with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the UN Tax Committee (UNTC) on the interaction between tax, trade, investment and other policy areas. The primary objective is to evaluate how taxes are treated in non-tax agreements and determine what each of these three communities can learn from each other.
Currently, the tax, trade and investment communities are undertaking an in-depth review of their respective approaches to policy reform across their treaty networks, options for and access to dispute resolution mechanisms and the implications of increasing competition to attract foreign direct investment whilst achieving sustainable development. This new project will bring together representatives from these groups and will address the following:

• The implications of selected provisions of international investment agreements (IIAs) and trade agreements on tax measures, particularly tax treaties.

• Whether the interactions between tax policy, IIAs and trade agreements are sending consistent messages to the business community.

• How each community identifies and deals with acceptable and unacceptable competition for investment.

• Identifying the dispute resolution mechanisms used in each policy area, their interaction and the potential for conflicting outcomes that may result in exploita-tion by investors.

All these questions have taken on a new importance with the increasing linkage between trade, tax and investment policies and the race to achieve the sustainable development goals on national, regional and international level.

Publications

• Owens, Jeffrey, Ferreira Liotto, Belisa, Maina, Ruth W.. 2023. Challenges at the intersection between regional trade agreements, investment provisions in regional trade agreements and implementation of the GloBE Rules under Pillar Two, Transnational Cooperations 2023, 30/1, 49-77.

• Owens, Jeffrey, Ndubai, Joy Waruguru, Lazarov, Ivan, Wamuyu Maina, Ruth, Madzivanyika, Ezera, Kalizinje, Frank, Nthabiseng, Debeila. 2023. Policy Brief: Understanding the Overlaps Between Trade and Investment Obligations and Tax measures - Setting a Foundation for Dialogue on the AfCFTA. African Tax Administration Forum.

• Owens, Jeffrey, Ndubai, Joy Waruguru, Liotti, Belisa, Lazarov, Ivan. 2022. The Treatment of Tax Incentives under Pillar Two. WU GTPC Working Paper.

• Owens, Jeffrey, Ndubai, Joy Waruguru, Rao, Siddhesh. 2021. Bridging the Policy Gaps: A Tax Focused Guide to Investment Agreements for Tax and Investment Policymakers. Tax Notes International. 101 (10), 1295-1298.

• Owens, Jeffrey, Ndubai, Joy Waruguru. 2021. Tax Competition: Understanding History's Influence On the New Normal. Tax Notes International. 103, September 13 2021, p.1449-1460.