Canada, U.S., Cuba – The Spirit of Free Trade and Building Ports – Part III
Last week we quoted Alanis Morissette – “isn’t it ironic, don’t you think …” It appears that the back and forth actions and reactions over the Port of Prince Rupert Ferry Terminal Project (the “Prince Rupert Ferry Project”) have resulted in a kind of trade related “mutually assured destruction” (otherwise known as “M.A.D.” in other contexts). There is some irony in that a “defensive” trade measure originally designed by Canada to counter the extraterritorial...
read moreCanada, U.S., Cuba – The Spirit of Free Trade and Building Ports – Part II
We began exploring Buy America provisions in the wake of the South Park Bridge Project in Colorado [https://www.wl-tradelaw.com/buy-america-and-the-integrated-north-american-economy/]. In that case, the U.S. Government ultimately decided not to require that Canadian steel used in the Bridge Project be removed. However, the Canadian Government faced mounting pressure to implement reciprocal local content restrictions to retaliate against Buy American provisions. These desired restrictions would effectively ban the use of foreign products and materials in any major...
read moreCanada, U.S., Cuba – The Spirit of Free Trade and Building Ports – Part 1
To quote a well-known Canadian singer, “isn’t it ironic, don’t you think …” As the United States is moving to end over half a century of frozen relations with Cuba, and is poised to end trade embargos that sideswiped Canadian business, it is also taking steps to keep Canadian steel out of a construction project on Canadian soil by applying Buy America Rules outside its borders. The result is that the Government of Canada...
read moreISDS (Investor State Dispute Settlement) – Different Perspectives
A recent study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) has found that Canada has been the target of more claims under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism than the U.S. or Mexico. [https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/nafta-chapter-11-investor-state-disputes-january-1-2015]. The CCPA affirmed its abolitionary stance on ISDS by stating that “the pervasive threat of investor-state challenge under NAFTA Chapter 11 puts a chill on public interest regulation” and that “current trends will...
read moreInvestor-State Dispute Settlement: There’s no Reason for Any Fuss
There has been vocal opposition to Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) arbitration provisions in Canada’s international trade agreements since the NAFTA entered into force in January 1994. Most recently, opponents have made the same arguments against ISDS in the Canada – E.U. Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). After twenty years of NAFTA ISDS experience, it seems appropriate to consider whether any of the arguments raised against NAFTA ISDS are valid. Based on a comprehensive...
read moreNAFTA Chapter 11 Investment Provisions – A Basic Overview
A few weeks ago we published presentations on Free Trade and on NAFTA Chapter 11 as firsts in a series of articles and materials on that subject. Seeing as Woods, LaFortune LLP has a great deal of experience in NAFTA investor-state litigation, we thought it might be useful to provide a review of the basic elements of the investment provisions in NAFTA’s Chapter 11. Over the next few weeks, we will provide additional commentary...
read moreGovernment Procurement: Protecting the Right to File a Bid Challenge Complaint
The majority of procurement complaints filed with the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (“CITT”) are rejected without inquiry because they were not filed in time. The CITT has no option but to reject these complaints because it has no authority to conduct inquiries into complaints filed outside the ten working day period set in the CITT Procurement Inquiry Regulations. Seeing so many potential suppliers denied the right to have their complaints heard because they waited...
read moreRMB Trading Hub and the Canada-China FIPA
With the aim of increasing international business and investment between Canada and China, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Chinese Premier Li Kegiang announced in November that Canada would be designated as an official Renminbi (“RMB”) currency trading hub. With the RMB, also commonly referred to as the Yuan, having recently emerged as the second most prominent currency in trade finance behind the U.S. dollar, countries around the globe have been aggressively competing and bidding...
read moreCanada-Korea FTA – The “Sleeping Giant”
The “Sleeping Giant” – with all the attention devoted to the recent conclusion of the Canada and European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement [“CETA”], Canada’s new Free Trade Agreement [“FTA”] with Korea may be getting overshadowed. In my view, the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement will prove to be one of Canada’s most important trade policy initiatives since the landmark Canada – U.S. FTA and the North American Free Trade Agreement [“NAFTA”] were...
read moreAdvance Rulings and Duty Drawback – CBSA v. Dorel Industries Inc.
The recent Federal Court of Appeal decision in Canada (Border Services Agency) v. Dorel Industries Inc., 2014 FCA 258 (CanLII) [“CBSA v. Dorel“], has made it more important for importers, who receive duty drawback or other refunds from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), to obtain Advanced Rulings so they can keep that money. The CBSA’s ability to recover duty drawback payments made to an importer came up CBSA v. Dorel in connection with...
read more
