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Call for ISDS moratorium during COVID-19 crisis and response
7-May-2020 CCSI
We call on the world community for an immediate moratorium on all arbitration claims by private corporations against governments using international investment treaties.
Africa must not let disputes with foreign investors undermine its Covid-19 response
7-May-2020 Business Day
There is an imminent threat of claims arising from emergency measures, so countries should review how investor-state disputes are handled.
If the government doesn’t halt trade talks with Trump, it’s learned nothing from coronavirus
6-May-2020 The Independent
The US trade model is not only unpopular with the British public, but it will also make us more vulnerable to future pandemics.
Mexico says auto factories to reopen with virus safeguards
27-Apr-2020 New York Times
The announcement came three days after the US government launched a campaign to get Mexico to reopen plants, suggesting the supply chain of the North American free trade zone could be permanently affected.
Mexico eyes agreement to end virus-induced disruptions to US-Mexico supply chains
24-Apr-2020 Reuters
Lopez Obrador said the government was reviewing the matter in the context of the entry into force of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a trade deal due to replace the 1994 NAFTA.
Corporations prepare to sue over action to save lives as pandemic reveals trade flaws
23-Apr-2020 The Conversation
Global companies are positioning themselves to use little-known rules in trade agreements to claim millions of dollars in compensation for restrictions imposed during the pandemic.
US pressures Mexico to reopen plants amid worker walkouts
22-Apr-2020 AP
The US pressed Mexico to reopen border assembly plants that are key to the US supply chain, as part of the North American free trade zone.
Stop all trade and investment treaty negotiations during COVID-19 crisis and focus on access to medical supplies and saving lives
22-Apr-2020 Friends of the Earth International
An open letter to Trade Ministries and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
US factories in Mexico are still open. As the coronavirus spreads, workers are dying
21-Apr-2020 Los Angeles Times
Maquiladoras which avoid most tariffs because their finished products are for export only, have boomed since the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement.
Pandemic profiteers: how foreign investors could make billions from crisis measures
20-Apr-2020 TNI
Governments’ emergency actions in the wake of COVID-19 could prompt a wave of arbitration lawsuits for billions of dollars by multinational corporations and investment lawyers.
Peru warned of potential ICSID claims over covid-19 measures
17-Apr-2020 Latin Lawyer
Peruvian officials have warned that a proposed emergency measure suspending the collection of toll fees on the country’s road network in response to the outbreak of covid-19 could result in multiple ICSID claims.
Protecting against investor–state claims amidst COVID-19: A call to action for governments
16-Apr-2020 IISD
Governments are facing an imminent threat of investor–state arbitration as they take difficult decisions to support public health systems in a time of severe economic stress.
Investment treaty claims in pandemic times: Potential claims and defenses
9-Apr-2020 Kluwer Arbitration Blog
States around the world have taken a variety of measures seeking to stem the spread of COVID-19. It is likely that some foreign investors may seek relief and/or compensation for any losses resulting from State measures.
Epidemic sovereignty? Contesting investment treaty claims arising from coronavirus measures
2-Apr-2020 EJIL:Talk!
Allegedly arbitrary or disproportionate measures, albeit in the public interest, provide regular grist for the mill of investment treaty arbitration.
Covid-19: Why India doesn’t need to worry about investor-State dispute settlement claims
2-Apr-2020 Hindustan Times
In order to halt the spread of the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) and to boost the public health care system and preparedness, India has taken several regulatory steps.
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership: Data exclusivity and access to biologics
1-Apr-2020 South Centre
The agreement does not promise that the suspended provision on test data rule concerning biological medicines will remain suspended.
Intellectual property rights: Potential implications of the DCFTA for access to medicine
25-Mar-2020 Observatoire Tunisien de l’Economie
If the intellectual property provisions of the DCFTA are applied, this will have an impact on both the cost of patented medicines and undermine access to affordable medicines.
US trade deal ‘could flood Britain with toxic cosmetics’
23-Mar-2020 The Guardian
Campaigners fear that EU rules banning dangerous chemicals will be relaxed to allow American companies into UK market.
Caroline Lucas: Coronavirus – and why we should all be worried about the US trade deal
10-Mar-2020 Left Foot Forward
Corporate-led trade deals put us all in danger when it comes to tacking future health crises, writes Caroline Lucas MP.
India offers US dairy, chicken access in bid for elusive trade deal with Trump
14-Feb-2020 Reuters
India has offered to partially open up its poultry and dairy markets in a bid for a limited trade deal during US President Donald Trump’s first official visit.