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NAFTA asparagus
6-May-2016 Crozet Gazette
After Peru signed a TPP-like free trade pact with the U.S. in 2007, it has become the largest exporter of fresh asparagus. But asparagus monoculture/agribusiness has resulted in water shortages in the Ica Valley.
Colombia: there’s no place for clean water under ’free trade’
15-Apr-2016 The Ecologist
The latest country to be hooked under ’free trade’ agreements is Colombia sued for tens of billions of dollars for valuing its national parks and the high-altitude Andean wetlands that provide 70% of the nation’s water above the profits of foreign corporations.
Protecting the Santurban páramo from Angostura mining project
18-Mar-2016 AIDA
High-altitude wetlands that provide drinking water to more than two million people could become one of the world’s biggest gold and silver mines.
Organisations condemn Eco Oro Minerals’ warning that it could sue Colombia over efforts to protect water sources
16-Mar-2016 CIEL
The Canadian company’s Angostura mining project in the high-altitude wetlands, or páramo, of Santurbán, has announced that it could file an international arbitration suit against Colombia over measures to protect the páramo, which are important sources of water in the country.
Thousands march against water privatization in Peru as TPP and ICSID ruling looms
10-Mar-2016 Rabble
More than 2,000 people marched in Lima, Peru in opposition to the government’s plan to privatize public water services.
La gestion des ressources en eau dans le sillage du libre-échange - CETA
18-Feb-2016 European Water Movement
Exposé de la position de l’AöW, au sujet de l’accord de libre-échange de l’UE avec le Canada – CETA.
The Free Trade agreement between the EU and Canada threatens water management
2-Nov-2015 European Water Movement
The European Commission always maintained that water would be excluded from the CETA, but a careful reading of the consolidated text of the treaty shows that the reality is different.
For the love of water: El Salvador’s mining ban
3-Sep-2015 Counter Punch
Over 90 percent of El Salvador’s surface water is contaminated with industrial chemicals, making it unsuitable to drink even if the water is boiled, chlorinated or filtered beforehand. A new action plan for passing a nationwide ban has begun to unfold, as Salvadorans await the outcome of the Pacific Rime ICSID case.
El Salvador, Water is more precious than gold
15-Apr-2015 ITUC
The International Trade Union Confederation calls on the government of El Salvador to denounce all treaties establishing ISDS proceedings.
Will El Salvador be forced to pay $301 million for valuing clean water over gold?
15-Apr-2015 Equal Times
The Central American state of El Salvador could be forced to pay US$301 million in damages to an Australian-Canadian mining company, OceanaGold, after the company’s application for a mining license was rejected on the basis of the projected environmental damage it would cause.
Disputes between States and multinationals - The paradigm: The dispute between Suez and Argentina
14-Apr-2015 Observatoire des Multinationales
An international arbitral tribunal has just ordered Argentina to pay nearly 400 million Euro to Suez because in 2006, after years of conflict, Argentina renationalized the water services in Buenos Aires.
India, Israel FTA not likely to be signed soon
11-Feb-2015 Business Standard
The India and Israel free trade agreement is not going to be reality soon, even as Israel plans expand its footprint in the Indian market in areas such as water management, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.
Human rights in investor-State arbitration: The human right to water and beyond
26-Jan-2015 SSRN
This article analyzes the restrictive approach adopted by investor-State arbitration tribunals to human rights arguments raised by host States, as exemplified in the case of the human right to water
The TISA threat to food and agriculture
26-Nov-2014 IUF
Agriculture depends on a whole complex of services – water, credit, research, testing, marketing – which may be privatised by TISA, warns Peter Rossman.
Australian company sues El Salvador for its right to pillage
3-Nov-2014 Green Left Weekly
Australian-based company OceanaGold is suing El Salvador for US$301 million for its “right” to continue operating a gold mine that is destroying the Central American nation’s water supply.
Argentina settles five outstanding investment treaty arbitration claims in historic break with its anti-enforcement stance
3-Nov-2013
Argentina has agreed to settle five separate investment treaty arbitration claims at a cost of around USD 500 million, in an historic departure from the Latin American state’s refusal to comply with awards made by international investment treaty arbitration bodies.
Water wars: Indigenous Ecuadorians vs. corporations
29-Mar-2012 Policymic
Ecuadorian communities learned from the way that Chevron’s operations flouted environmental law in the 1990’s, that once entrusted to foreign businesses their natural resources are usually squandered.
Obama says to suspend trade benefits for Argentina
26-Mar-2012
U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday he was suspending trade benefits for Argentina because of the South American country’s failure to pay more than $300 million in compensation awards in two disputes involving American investors.
US firm eyes trade case to force Argentina payment
9-Aug-2011 Reuters
Azurix Corp plans to ask the Obama administration for help in recovering more than $230 million it says it is owned by the government of Argentina. It would be the first time a US company has used the "Section 301" trade law to pressure a foreign government to pay an award decided by an arbitrator in an investment dispute.
Local CETA water concerns linger
25-Jul-2011
The Harper government says it’s successfully concluded an eighth round of free trade negotiations with the European Union, and despite reassurances from provincial, and recently federal, government officials that water is not on the bargaining table, several Sea to Sky residents are extremely concerned.