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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)

Claim against ROA Government
| 9-Apr-2007
Global Gold mining company submitted its claim to the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), a body adjunct to the World Bank, against the Government of the Republic of Armenia (ROA). The Company is trying to protect its investment rights in arbitration court.
Armenia , ICSID , investment | BITs , investor-state disputes | ISDS , mining , US
Ex-USTR negotiator Vargo key in CAFTA case
| 30-Mar-2007
Pittsburgh-based Railroad Development Corporation (RDC) has hired former US trade agreement negotiator, Regina Vargo, and filed suit against the Guatemalan government under the investor-state provisions within Chapter 10 of CAFTA.
CAFTA , Dominican Republic , Guatemala , investor-state disputes | ISDS , US
US mining firm sues Armenian government
| 22-Mar-2007
A US company mining gold in Armenia has initiated an international arbitration of its bitter dispute with Environment Minister Vartan Ayvazian whom it accuses of corruption and other violations of the law.
Armenia , ICSID , investor-state disputes | ISDS , mining , US
RDC files notice of intent to submit claims for arbitration under CAFTA against the Republic of Guatemala
| 14-Mar-2007
On the morning of Tuesday, March 13, Railroad Development Corporation (RDC) filed its Notice of Intent to Submit Claims to international arbitration against the Republic of Guatemala under the Central America-Dominican Republic-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).
CAFTA , Guatemala , investor-state disputes | ISDS , US
Peru, Colombia trade deals would lock in more bad investment rules
FPIF | 18-Dec-2006
The investment rules in the Colombia and Peru trade pacts with the US deserve special scrutiny. They grant protections for private foreign investors that are virtually identical to those in NAFTA, CAFTA and myriad bilateral investment treaties signed over the past two decades. And yet these countries are being pulled on board at a time of a dramatic awakening about these rules’ potential for harm.
Colombia , investment | BITs , investor-state disputes | ISDS , Peru , US
Azurix wins $165 million vs Argentina in latest ICSID ruling
| 15-Aug-2006
Former Enron Corp. (ENE) water unit Azurix Corp. has been awarded $165 million against Argentina in the latest ruling on dozens of international arbitration claims brought against the country by foreign companies. A person familiar with the situation confirmed Tuesday that both parties were informed Monday of the decision by a tribunal at the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, or the ICSID.
Argentina , corporate interests , investor-state disputes | ISDS , US , water
Seoul reveals a lack of experience in FTA negotiations
| 9-Aug-2006
"We are learning new things while we’re negotiating with the American representatives," said a Korean official who was part of the labor section negotiation team during the first round of the Korea-U.S. FTA talks, held in Washington last June. "The U.S. is demanding the introduction of a so-called ’public communication system,’ which was a term that we heard for the first time," the negotiator told Hankyoreh.
finance | banking | taxes , investment | BITs , investor-state disputes | ISDS , Korea , US
Vannessa Arbitration Update
| 31-Jul-2006
Vannessa Ventures Ltd. (the "Company") has an arbitral claim being heard in accordance with the rules of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington, D.C. where Vannessa is requesting remedies under the Bilateral Investment Treaty between Venezuela and Canada.
Canada , ICSID , investment | BITs , investor-state disputes | ISDS , Venezuela
Will recent nationalisations in Bolivia give rise to claims under political risk insurance policies?
Mondaq | 15-Jun-2006
It may be advantageous for foreign investors to pursue a claim under a Political Risk insurance policy and allow the insurers to recover subsequently under any applicable investment treaty by way of subrogation.
Bolivia , investment | BITs , investor-state disputes | ISDS , US
Pakistan, US to hold final round of BIT talks
Khaleej Times | 5-Jan-2006
A high powered US delegation is arriving here on 18 of this month to hold talks with the Pakistani authorities to finalise the BIT, in the absence of which, Washington was unprepared to sign Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Pakistan.
ICSID , investor-state disputes | ISDS , Pakistan , US