Simon Lester

This is from Inside US Trade: In addition to the cultural carveout, [Jesús] Seade, [the chief NAFTA negotiator for Mexican president-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador], touted the USMCA’s dispute settlement system, particularly Chapter 20 state-to-state dispute resolution, along with the deal’s provisions for small and medium-sized enterprises and

This is a guest post from Risa Schwartz, a sole practitioner based in Canada focussing on the intersections between international trade and investment law and Indigenous rights (@risaschwartzlaw, risa@risaschwartzinternationallaw.com) The United States-Mexico-Canada agreement includes a new provision for the protection of the rights of  Indigenous peoples.  This exception,

This is a question from an Inside US Trade reporter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer: Q Yeah. Thank you, Ambassador. My name is Anshu, with Inside U.S. Trade. ... And then in a broader sense, on the use of 232, the President sort of said that he made

This is from the ANZSIL International Economic Law Interest Group: CALL FOR PAPERS FOR AND INVITATION TO 2019 WORKSHOP Background The ANZSIL International Economic Law Interest Group (IELIG) was established in 2011 to provide a forum for those interested in international economic law, especially international regulation of trade, investment, intellectual

Back in 2001, a NAFTA Chapter 20 panel ruled that certain U.S. restrictions on Mexican trucking services violated U.S. commitments under the NAFTA. Implementation of this ruling by the U.S. has seen some stops and starts. The new NAFTA clarifies and limits the U.S. obligation: Notwithstanding

The original NAFTA withdrawal provision, Article 2205, said this: A Party may withdraw from this Agreement six months after it provides written notice of withdrawal to the other Parties. If a Party withdraws, the Agreement shall remain in force for the remaining Parties. The new NAFTA withdrawal provision, Article 34.

This is a guest post from law prof Kathleen Claussen: The USTR fact sheet released in late August previewed that the USMCA labor provisions would be the “strongest of any trade agreement.”  To evaluate this statement, rather than look at the agreements in force or the status quo on the

As part of a quest to find the most obscure aspect of the new NAFTA, I point you to the scope of non-violation claims. This is from the new NAFTA: Article 31.2: Scope 1. Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, the dispute settlement provisions of this Chapter shall apply:

Article 32.10 of the new NAFTA says: Article 32.10: Non-Market Country FTA 1. At least 3 months prior to commencing negotiations, a Party shall inform the other Parties of its intention to commence free trade agreement negotiations with a non-market country. For purposes of this Article, a non-market

Inu and I had a recent article in which we explained how NAFTA Chapter 20 state-state dispute settlement hasn't been working because of problems with appointing panelists (in large part because the roster of panelists was not filled). It doesn't look like this article made much