The NAFTA teardown: Here's where Trump could start

CNN - Money ^ | December 1, 2016: 10:05 AM ET | Patrick Gillespie

[GonzoII]

President-elect Donald Trump is clear: Starting Day 1, he wants to renegotiate or withdraw from NAFTA, the free trade deal among three countries: America, Canada and Mexico.

Trump's pledge begs the question: Where do you start?

Trump could begin with a controversial chapter of NAFTA that some experts believe gives corporations an incentive to create jobs across the border by giving them too much power to skirt and battle foreign government laws.

It's in Chapter 11 of NAFTA and it''s called the investor-state dispute settlement or ISDS.

It gives U.S. corporations the power to sue the Canadian or Mexican government on regulations they say impose a burden on their business

[Wolfie]

Metalclad sued a Mexican town when the town wouldn’t let it re-open a waste disposal plant over water contamination fears. Won a multi-million dollar settlement in NAFTA court.

[Gay State Conservative]

Trade with Canada just might be a mutually beneficial thing.In fact it's not difficult for me to believe that it is.If it's true there's no reason why that trade shouldn't continue.Trading with Mexico,OTOH,absolutely cannot be a net plus for us.Of course it's up to Canada to decide if trading with Mexico benefits them or not.

I want a wall that stops everything....people,drugs,farm products,manufactured goods.Mexico is our enemy in every way but militarily.Lots and lots and lots of police on the border but no soldiers...that's my prescription.

[GoldenPup]

Did they ever collect?

[lewislynn]

Do you think a Mexican town has multi-millions of dollars laying around to pay out for lawsuits?

Where do you think the multi-million dollars came from? Look in a mirror for the answer.

[Wolfie]

Don’t see how a mirror would help, since I’m not a Mexican citizen.

Anyway, here’s an article on the settlement:

Metalclad NAFTA Dispute Is Settled
Law: The impact of the pending resolution is unclear for future investor claims under a NAFTA provision.
June 14, 2001|EVELYN IRITANI | TIMES STAFF WRITER

Metalclad Corp. announced Wednesday that Mexico had agreed to pay $15.6 million to end a dispute that became the centerpiece in the battle about property rights between private companies and governments in the new world of free trade.

Although some of the details need to be resolved, Metalclad President Grant Kesler said in a telephone interview that Mexico had agreed to abide by terms set last month by a Canadian Supreme Court judge in a case filed under the North American Free Trade Agreement. “It feels good to see the end is in sight,” he said.

Officials contacted in Mexico City would say only that they were exploring a resolution. However, participants confirmed the hard part was finished. A final agreement, which includes damages, interest and legal fees, is not expected for several weeks, Kesler said.

The Newport Beach firm had accused Mexico of wrongfully expropriating a hazardous-waste facility in San Luis Potosi by refusing to issue a construction permit and declaring the site an ecological reserve. Residents had opposed the project. The company was one of the first to seek such damages under NAFTA

[Wolfie]

And a later article:

Mexico Pays $16 Million to Metalclad, Ending First NAFTA Chapter 11 Dispute

[Crolis]

Seems like the answer is to go back to bilateral trade agreements rather than these global omnibus agreements with many countries all signing on.

A bilateral agreement makes sense as it allows you to custom tailor the agreement in negotiations to the benefit of both parties and their unique needs.

Canada and Mexico might be similar in terms of geographic area and an abundance of natural resources, but they are like night and day based on their government and level of corruption.