I am not familiar with the legal structure of the investor protection provisions foreseen in TTIP, but this is an idea that crossed my mind.
These provisions basically give foreign businesses the right to sue a country for damages caused by actions of that country, such as new legislation. But as I understand it, this is a right granted exclusively to foreign businesses. A company from the same country does not have that privilege (I could be wrong here, but I couldn't find any information ruling this out).
If I had a company seated in the US and serving mainly US customers, wouldn't it make more sense for me to relocate my business to Europe? Or vice versa? Then my investments in my main area of operation would be seen as foreign investments and I could sue the country if it passes legislation that hurts my business. If I remained in my original country I would just have to accept it.
Would the foreign investment provisions of trade agreements lead to such a migration of businesses or am I missing something obvious?
rule of law
part of my comment. It will not give you much if you already are covered by the laws of the USA or EU, so there will not be incentives for business to incorporate outside. But It will give you some safeties if you are investing in, say, Russia or Saudi Arabia. It also helps by stating which organism has the right to judge the issues.