Here's a U.S. proposal, in the NAFTA renegotiation, to open Canada's dairy market a bit:
The proposal came as the U.S. made its first significant move on dairy, a traditional sticking point with Canada. Several insiders said Friday the U.S. has asked Canada to scrap its special classifications benefiting domestic producers for things like diafiltered cheese-making products.
On the other hand, here's a U.S. proposal to modify NAFTA Chapter 20 state-state dispute settlement:
The United States, at the fourth round of NAFTA negotiations, has tabled text on a state-to-state dispute settlement system that would allow countries to disregard panel decisions, effectively making the chapter non-binding, sources said.
One source said the proposed system would allow parties to determine whether a panel erred in making a decision that goes beyond the scope of NAFTA. A country could disregard a ruling if it decided a panel ruled in a way it deemed “clearly erroneous.”
The obvious problem here is that if responding parties can disregard rulings so easily, how will the U.S. enforce any rulings against Canadian dairy restrictions? And why would the U.S. dairy industry sign on to an agreement that would be so hard to enforce?
More on NAFTA Chapter 20, including a list of all complaints, here.
