Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Showing Original Post only (View all)NAFTA's ISDS: Why Canada Is One of the Most Sued Countries in the World [View all]
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/10/23/naftas-isds-why-canada-one-most-sued-countries-worldNAFTA, the free trade deal between Canada, the USA and Mexico that came into effect in 1994, was the first trade deal among developed countries to include an investor-state provision. It grants investors of the continent the right to sue one anothers governments without first pursuing legal action through the countrys legal system. Before NAFTA, ISDS provisions were only negotiated between developed and undeveloped countries.
Ethyl, a U.S. chemical corporation, successfully challenged a Canadian ban on imports of its gasoline that contained MMT, an additive that is a suspected neurotoxin. The Canadian government repealed the ban and paid the company $13 million (approximately 8.8 million) for its loss of revenue.
S.D. Myers, a U.S. waste disposal firm, challenged a similar ban on the export of toxic PCB waste. Canada paid the company over $6 million (approximately 4 million).
A NAFTA panel ordered the Canadian government to pay Exxon-Mobil, the worlds largest oil and gas company, $17.3 million (approximately 11.6 million) when the company challenged government guidelines that investors in offshore exploration in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador where the company is heavily involved must invest in local research and development.
New Jersey-based Bilcon Construction is demanding $300,000 (approximately 200,000) in damages from the Canadian government after winning a NAFTA challenge when its plan to build a massive quarry and marine terminal in an environmentally sensitive area of Nova Scotia and ship basalt aggregate through the Bay of Fundy, site of the highest tides in the world, was rejected by an environmental assessment panel.
Chemical giant Dow AgroSciences used NAFTA to force the province of Quebec, after it banned 2,4-D, a pesticide that the Natural Resources Defence Council says has been linked in many studies to cancer and cell damage, to publicly acknowledge that the chemical does not pose an unacceptable risk to human health, a position the government had previously held.
The Canadian government paid American pulp and paper giant AbitibiBowater $130 million (approximately 88 million) after the company successfully used NAFTA to claim compensation for the water and timber rights it left behind when it abandoned its operations in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador after 100 years, leaving the workers with unpaid pensions. This challenge is particularly disturbing because it gives a foreign investor the right to claim compensation for the actual resources it used while operating in another jurisdiction.
Mesa Power Group, an energy company owned by Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens, is claiming $775 million (approximately 523 million) in a challenge to the province of Ontarios Green Energy Act, which gives preferential access to local wind farm operators.
Lone Pine, a Canadian energy company, is suing the Canadian government through its American affiliate for $250 million (approximately 152 million) because the province of Quebec introduced a temporary moratorium on all fracking activities under the St. Lawrence River until further studies are completed. This challenge is concerning because it involves a domestic company using a foreign subsidiary to sue its own government.
Eli Lilly, a U.S. pharmaceutical giant, is suing Canada for $500 million (approximately 337 million) after three levels of courts in Canada denied it a patent extension on one of its products. This case is particularly disturbing because it challenges Canadian laws as interpreted by Canadian courts and represents a new frontier for ISDS challenges
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
60 replies, 5562 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (51)
ReplyReply to this post
60 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
NAFTA's ISDS: Why Canada Is One of the Most Sued Countries in the World [View all]
eridani
Oct 2015
OP
It will be interesting to see if that is true. This article from Japan indicates that it might not.
pampango
Oct 2015
#7
I get so frustrated and annoyed with the people that say that the U.S. has never lost
stillwaiting
Oct 2015
#6
Tell that to those in rural South Carolina or Tennessee working for a foreign auto company.
Hoyt
Oct 2015
#38
How, if people want a Toyota, they'd buy them whether built in Japan or Mexico. I'd rather
Hoyt
Oct 2015
#55
That's like claiming credit for feeding the horses because you let them out of the barn.
fasttense
Oct 2015
#42
"Countries that don't sign as many free trade agreements have better economies overall."
pampango
Oct 2015
#40
Sure, every country in the world -- including Denmark -- are corrupt for signing 2500 similar
Hoyt
Oct 2015
#18
It's true that huge corporations from all over the world have their tentacles into many countries
fasttense
Oct 2015
#43
Harper is no longer there, do you think it will pass? Nor was Harper there for NAFTA.
Hoyt
Oct 2015
#28
So all these countries that sign these agreements -- including Scandanavian -- are corrupt.
Hoyt
Oct 2015
#50
Well they all -- including Denmark -- must be corrupt if they are bowing to corporations.
Hoyt
Oct 2015
#54
I think 'eminent domain' should work in the opposite direction, too, i.e for.
Joe Chi Minh
Oct 2015
#15
http://economixcomix.com/home/tpp/ (Economix explains the Trans-Pacific Partnership)
Babel_17
Oct 2015
#30
A flat ban on environmental poisons applies to both Canadiean and foreign companies
eridani
Oct 2015
#35
It will be interesting to see if the ISDS rules in the TPP are any better than in NAFTA.
pampango
Oct 2015
#41