NAFTA | USMCA


Third-party funder is the only winner in Odyssey Marine Exploration’s suit against Mexico
The country will likely have to pay over $30 million to an American litigation firm because it wanted to protect its environment from harmful seabed mining.
Stricter rules of origin won’t help Michigan’s auto workers
The United States International Trade Commission found that, through 2022, there were “few signs” that USMCA’s rules of origin had led to changes in production, trade, employment and investment or competitiveness.
Mexico loses phosphate mining lawsuit in controversial arbitration process
Odyssey Marine Exploration, a deep-sea mining company based in Florida, sued Mexico after rejecting environmental permits for a phosphate mining project off the coast of the state of Baja California Sur.
Odyssey Marine Exploration reports win in NAFTA arbitration case
The award orders Mexico to pay US$37.1 million for breaching its obligations under NAFTA, plus interest.
How NAFTA broke American politics
Since its passage in 1993, the trade agreement has played an outsize role in presidential elections — which now often hinge on the three Rust Belt states it helped to hollow out.
US escalates efforts to halt Ottawa's digital services tax
The Office of the United States Trade Representative has requested dispute settlement consultations with Ottawa under the Canada-US-Mexico trade agreement.
TC Energy loses $15-billion NAFTA lawsuit against US
The welcome decision shines a light on Canada’s flawed defence in similar investor-state case against Canada.
Dismissal of $15 billion NAFTA legacy case on Keystone XL pipeline is welcome, but billions in egregious claims still remain
The World Bank has dismissed Canadian oil company TC Energy's $15 billion ISDS case against the US sought due to lack of jurisdiction.
Next steps on the USMCA corn case: What the panelists should ask
This week the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) dispute over Mexico’s restrictions on genetically modified (GM) corn and glyphosate enters a new phase.
NAFTA at 30: The mother of all free trade agreements
As the first free trade agreement in contemporary history, the North American Free Trade Agreement, turns 30, it’s a good time to ask why this particular treaty played such a watershed role in the history of the global regime of trade and investment.