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NAFTA | USMCA

North America Free Trade Agreement | US-Mexico-Canada Agreement


US files first trade complaint with Mexico under USMCA
The USMCA allows a panel to determine whether Mexico is enforcing labor laws that allow workers to choose their union and vote on contracts and union leadership.
US unions lodge first Mexico labor grievance under new NAFTA
The AFL-CIO, the biggest US labor federation, will file the first petition for the US government to bring a labor complaint against Mexico under the USMCA trade deal.
Mexico should follow other countries and refuse excessive powers for foreign investors
Pakistan is the latest to start withdrawing from international treaties that give corporations the power to sue governments over environmental and public interest regulations.
Can trade work for workers?
Helping left-behind regions should be a core goal of Biden’s administration. The damage has been done, and free trade isn’t going anywhere.
NAFTA-investor lawsuits cost Canada at least $376 million: report
NAFTA-investor lawsuits have cost Canadian taxpayers more than $376 million over the last 25 years, and could cost even more in the years ahead.
The rise and demise of NAFTA Chapter 11
The removal of investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS) from the renegotiated NAFTA was a critical victory but Canada, the US and Mexico continue to be enmeshed in an extensive web of bilateral and regional accords containing ISDS.
Rehabilitating protection and resituating trade agreements
Recent calls for the US to launch a trade dispute over Mexico’s proposed decree to ban glyphosate and the planting and importation of GM corn mischaracterize the science on glyphosate, the decree and the role of US trade policy.
First labor rights claim under the revised NAFTA filed by migrant worker women in the US — what does it mean in terms of the new labor rulebook in the region?
The complaint represents many organizations’ intentions to test if the revised NAFTA’s labor terms could be an effective tool to improve workers’ conditions.
Women file complaint over gender discrimination in US temporary work programs
A group of Mexican migrant worker women have used the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to launch a complaint over discrimination in temporary labor programs.
Stopping the race to the bottom in trade policy
Agribusiness giant Bayer/Monsanto claims that Mexico’s proposed restrictions on the active ingredient in its Roundup herbicide violate the country’s trade agreement with the US.
Will new NAFTA block Biden’s progressive regulatory policies?
Biden is on the right track in calling for reform. But if the same deregulatory agenda remains in our internationally enforceable trade agreements, Biden’s reforms will come up short, ultimately subverting his agenda and vision.
Trade agreements like NAFTA are a menace to democracy
Free-trade agreements enable companies to sue governments if they interfere with profit-making activities, no matter how destructive. These trade deals put us in an antidemocratic straitjacket — it’s time we got rid of them.
Canadian miner First Majestic wants to resolve its tax dispute with the SAT with international arbitration
Canadian mining company First Majestic Silver Corp submitted a request for arbitration based on NAFTA, due to the tax debt and its differences with the Mexican government.
US trade nominee says Mexico-Canada pact is priority
US trade representative nominee Katherine Tai has said implementing the new free trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico will be a priority.
Mexican social media plan violates North America trade deal, industry says
A Latin American social media industry group that includes Facebook and Twitter said a reform in Mexico would violate an international trade pact, in swift backlash to a draft bill that seeks to regulate social media platforms.
Q&A: Int’l arbitration expert on Alberta’s threat of ’slam-dunk’ case v. USA over Keystone veto
Alberta’s Premier said that the Canadian province, which has an equity in the now-canceled Keystone XL pipeline, may seek compensation under investor-protection provisions still in effect under NAFTA
US Chamber slams Mexico power bill as breach of USMCA trade pact
The bill gives preference in electricity distribution to the state-run Comision Federal de Electricidad and seeks to eliminate its obligation to buy electricity through auctions.
Biden to focus on trade enforcement after years of Trump tariffs
President Joe Biden’s administration is setting up its trade policy to prioritize enforcement of existing commitments by the US’s partners over negotiating more deals to open new export markets.
Table of foreign investor-state cases and claims under NAFTA and other US “trade deals”
ISDS tribunals have ordered governments to pay corporations more than $989 million in compensation after ISDS attacks launched just under U.S. agreements.
Keystone XL legal risks highlight dangers of putting investors before climate change
The owner of Keystone XL — TC Energy (previously TransCanada) — used NAFTA to launch a US$15 billion lawsuit in 2016 after President Barack Obama cancelled the project.