If you are looking for a distraction from the general panic about Trump's possible steel/aluminum tariffs, take a look at this from Inside US Trade:
Efforts to fix NAFTA’s state-to-state dispute settlement process have also progressed during this round, sources said. Mexico and Canada are making recommendations to fix the chapter – including, they said, suggestions about how to select panelists and how to describe their decision-making process. NAFTA’s state-to-state dispute settlement mechanism, contained in Chapter 20 of the agreement, has rarely been used because parties can unilaterally block the nomination of a panelist indefinitely.
At the fourth round last October, the U.S. proposed that panel decisions in state-to-state dispute settlement chapters be non-binding. Mexico disagrees with this proposal, as have a litany of business and labor stakeholders. Discussions this week have included talk of a mechanism through which a panel decision could be reviewed in “extraordinary” circumstances, sources said, and the U.S., to date, has not rejected that idea, they added.
I'm very curious about the suggestions on "how to describe [panels'] decision-making process." I know this is a big deal for the U.S., and I'll be interested to see what new language they come up with, and how it might affect the approach of panels.
The "mechanism through which a panel decision could be reviewed in 'extraordinary' circumstances" is also intriguing. Sounds like something short of WTO-style appellate review, which the U.S. has criticized aspects of.
