Sep 10, 2018
In Canada’s ongoing attempts to renegotiate the terms of NAFTA, the Chapter 19 dispute resolution provision has proven to be a sticking point, as Canada is fighting to save it while the U.S. wants it scrapped. However, as Tom Blackwell explains in a recent article in the National Post, the Chapter 19 mechanism has served American exporters well over the years – particularly those in the U.S. agriculture sector. As a result, some trade experts are questioning why the U.S. is so adamant that the tool not be part of a revamped NAFTA. One of the experts that Blackwell consults is Riyaz Dattu, a partner in Osler’s International Trade and Investment Law Group.
In the article, Riyaz explains that while Chapter 19 has been beneficial to Canadian industry, especially in those instances where the U.S. has imposed duties on imported softwood lumber, it has also been “quite actively” used with considerable success by American companies over the past two decades.
“It’s somewhat puzzling to understand that the U.S. has been so adamant that Chapter 19 must go,” he says.
Learn more about the history of the Chapter 19 dispute resolution mechanism and the role it is playing in the NAFTA renegotiations by reading Tom Blackwell’s full article “U.S. wants NAFTA dispute courts scrapped, but they may be just as useful for Americans as Canadians” from August 31, 2018.