Levin Calls NAFTA Case a 'Wake-Up Call' for TPP Investor-State Proposal
The investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) model in U.S. free trade agreements is "unacceptable," and a recent case decided in a NAFTA investor tribunal shows the "system is in need of serious reforms," said House Ways and Means Committee ranking member…
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Sandy Levin, D-Mich., in a March 27 blog post (here). ISDS judges in recent days awarded Delaware-based Bilcon a victory in a case against the Canadian government over Canada's decision to "deny an environmental permit to establish a rock quarry in Nova Scotia," said Levin in the blog. WikiLeaks released the confidential Trans-Pacific Partnership investment text on March 25 (see 1503260017). While the chapter emphasizes the focus on ensuring non-discriminatory treatment, Levin said U.S. negotiators haven't yet clarified the minimum standard of treatment language in the text. "Bilcon and other recent ISDS disputes vividly demonstrate the need to do so," said Levin. "The Bilcon case should therefore serve as a wake-up call. U.S. negotiators in TPP should propose that the TPP investment chapter be amended in a manner consistent with what the U.S. Government has argued in ISDS cases – but that the most recent NAFTA tribunal has rejected."