ISDS Case Map
NAFTA | USMCA
Canada’s negotiators extended data protection on biologics without knowing impact on prices.
Dairy Farmers of Ontario spokesperson said the agreement by Canada to end the Class 7 pricing on some Canadian-produced milk ingredients, like protein concentrates, skim milk and whole milk powder, is a concern.
It is deeply concerning, though not surprising, that the proposed United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has at least three chapters that formally entrench corporate influence on government decision-making.
US-Canada ISDS is terminated; expansive investor rights eliminated and new review procedures mostly replace ISDS between US and Mexico.
Unverified rumours circulated in early 2018 that Canada was willing to abandon NAFTA’s provisions entitling foreign investors to sue for damages under what is called investor-state dispute settlement, or ISDS.
Investor-state dispute settlement was tempered in the USMCA, but the government needs to justify why it persists asking for it in other agreements.
The proposed new NAFTA, dubbed the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), would expedite exports and imports of food and agricultural products, purportedly based on “scientific principles” and “science-based decision making.”
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says that Washington wants to include a provision to deter currency manipulation in future trade deals, including with Japan, based on the currency chapter in the new deal to revamp NAFTA.
Is USMCA “brand new”? Or is it simply Reagan/Bush/Clinton’s NAFTA with a heavy dose of President Obama’s TPP thrown in the mix, just a rose by another name?
Experts are fuming, saying USMCA will hamper Canada’s innovation economy and hike costs to the health care system over patented drugs.
