Like international trade, cross‐​border direct investment drives economic growth. The value of cross‐​border investment flows has increased dramatically worldwide in response to liberalization of investment rules over the past couple of decades. But the trend toward liberalization has slowed, even reversed, in recent years. In April, the International Chamber of Commerce published the first revision in 40 years to its International Investment Guidelines, and the Obama administration published long‐​awaited revisions to its template for international investment agreements—the so‐​called model bilateral investment treaty. Will these developments help rein in investment protectionism. How will they influence cross‐​border investment flows? Can they help achieve the vaunted macroeconomic rebalancing?