July 25, 2017
In the wake of the Trump administration’s release of its long-awaited negotiating objectives for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Washington’s request to eliminate Chapter 19 of NAFTA might complicate talks, according to an article in Global News. In the article, author Erica Alini outlines why the elimination of Chapter 19 – which establishes a binational trade dispute resolution panel – may be an impediment to negotiations. Osler partner Riyaz Dattu, an international trade and investment law expert, tells Global News Canada’s success rate using this mechanism is part of the reason the U.S. wants to eliminate Chapter 19.
Peter Glossop, a partner in Osler’s Competition/Antitrust Practice Group, tells Global News that there are other factors that could delay NAFTA renegotiations, as well. Peter says that while the current expectation is that the dispute will be resolved by the end of the year, the softwood lumber issue could become a factor and further complicate talks.
For more information, read Erica Alini’s article “One request by Trump threatens both NAFTA negotiations and the softwood lumber dispute” in Global News.