What makes ISDS divisive is it exposes governments to potentially expensive private arbitration by foreign corporations who feel that environmental protection measures impede their business.
A New York-based energy company is asking the Ontario Superior Court to enforce a $28-million award against the Canadian and Ontario governments that it received under a NAFTA arbitration.
What does Mr. Trump think about the constitution-like rights for the protection of foreign investors that are enforced via the system of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS)?
Trump could begin with a controversial chapter of NAFTA that some experts believe allows a company to go head-to-head with a foreign country — an idea that bothers some.
NAFTA, critics say, included investment provisions that inherently created an uneven playing field, allowing corporate investors to directly sue national governments for mega-millions and ultimately sidestep domestic environmental laws.