The privatization of public services is being rejected all around the world because it has led to underinvestment and price hikes.
Yet undoing privatization when it’s been carried out by foreign firms can run into serious problems; those who take this path can soon discover an adder in the grass. Tucked into the international trade treaties that countries often sign are ‘investor protection’ provisions, which give foreign corporations the ability to attack any attempt at a public take-back by suing the government.
