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North America

Canada and the United States have signed about 180 investment agreements.

They are both party to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico. Sixty-seven disputes were launched under NAFTA.

NAFTA was recently renegotiated and replaced by the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that was signed in November 2018 and is yet to enter in force. The investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism between the US and Canada, and between Mexico and Canada has been removed – even though it is included in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, to which both Mexico and Canada belong. Only limited claims are allowed between the US and Mexico, after exhaustion of local remedies. But the ISDS mechanism has been maintained between the two countries for claims pertaining to Mexico’s oil and gas sector.

The US is also party to the Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), with six Central American states. US investors have initiated all 11 known CAFTA disputes.

Canada has an investment treaty with China and is party to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union. CETA includes a revised ISDS mechanism, the investment court system, which has been critiqued for not addressing the core of the problem behind the mechanism.

US investors have extensively used the ISDS mechanism. They have initiated around 180 disputes, over 17% of all known cases, making the US the most frequent home state of investors. The US has never lost an ISDS case.

Canadian investors have initiated about 50 disputes and Canada has been the fourth most frequent target among ‘developed’ states (9th globally), with 29 cases.

Photo: Public Citizen

(April 2020)

Uruguay estrena su Tratado de Inversiones con Estados Unidos: ITALBA Corporation inicia demanda contra Uruguay
DW | 14-Jul-2017
Bajo ese título publica REDES una nueva investigación que da cuenta de la fragilidad de los Estados frente a los mecanismos de solución de controversias, con impactos invisibilizados en las políticas públicas, los derechos y la soberanía para diseñar y ejecutar estrategias de desarrollo nacionales.
corporate interests , investor-state disputes | ISDS , sovereignty | democracy , telecommunications , Uruguay , US
Canada blinks in face of US/Pharma pressure
Info Justice | 14-Jul-2017
The cool reasoning of the Canadian Supreme Court does not acknowledge or reference “external” pressures or the Eli Lilly v. Canada ISDS case. However, courts do not decide cases in a vacuum. This case seems to have been decided in a pressure cooker.
Canada , intellectual property , investor-state disputes | ISDS , medicines , NAFTA | USMCA , US
Corte de EEUU rechaza intento de ExxonMobil de forzar arbitraje con Venezuela
Entorno Inteligente | 12-Jul-2017
Un tribunal de apelaciones de Estados Unidos rechazó hoy la intención de la petrolera ExxonMobil de forzar a Venezuela a honrar las disposiciones de un arbitraje internacional vinculado con la expropiación de activos de esa compañía.
investor-state disputes | ISDS , US , Venezuela
Small business leaders to Trump: in renegotiating NAFTA, end unfair competitive edge for multinational companies over US small businesses
Green America | 12-Jul-2017
100 small businesses: NAFTA currently privileges multinational corporations over U.S. small business unfairly under “Investor-State Dispute Settlement” preferential treatment.
investor-state disputes | ISDS , NAFTA | USMCA , US
Les poursuites investisseur-État sont une vraie mine d’or
CEO | 10-Jul-2017
Le rapport énonce l’histoire d’une région roumaine et de son combat contre l’exploitation d’une mine aux conséquences potentiellement désastreuses.
Canada , investor-state disputes | ISDS , mining , Romania
Can NAFTA be improved? Some activists are hopeful about renegotiation
The Progressive | 4-Jul-2017
Regardless of the short-term outcome, the movement for a progressive new NAFTA will hand progressives a dynamic issue—and a mobilized base—in the 2018 and 2020 elections. The current renegotiation could set the stage for future battles, perhaps for deeper change.
investor-state disputes | ISDS , NAFTA | USMCA , US
Gabriel: you can always ask but it doesn’t mean we will let you get it!
Alburnus Maior | 3-Jul-2017
With Gabriel Resources seeking US$4.4 billion in damages, Alburnus Maior, a prospective amicus curiae in the arbitration case, announces that it aims to file its brief to the ICSID Tribunal until September 2018 at the latest.
actions | resistance , Canada , investor-state disputes | ISDS , mining , Romania
Un groupe minier canadien réclame 4Mds USD à la Roumanie
Le Figaro | 30-Jun-2017
Un groupe canadien a annoncé réclamer 4,4 milliards de dollars de dédommagement à la Roumanie en compensation de l’abandon d’un projet de mine d’or, au coeur d’une longue controverse judiciaire et environnementale.
Canada , investor-state disputes | ISDS , mining , Romania
NAFTA lawsuits target Canada most while U.S. hasn’t lost yet
Financial Post | 30-Jun-2017
When it comes to the North American Free Trade Agreement, Canada can safely claim the title of biggest loser in terms of lawsuits.
Canada , environment , investor-state disputes | ISDS , natural resources , US
Canada’s Gabriel Resources to seek $4.4 bln in damages from Romania
Reuters | 30-Jun-2017
Gabriel Resources Ltd will seek $4.4 billion in damages from Romania for losses related to its long-stalled Rosia Montana gold mine project in a claim that the Canadian miner plans to file with a World Bank Tribunal.
Canada , investor-state disputes | ISDS , mining , Romania