Investor-State Dispute Settlement
Wednesday March 20, 2019: Lucy Manne interviews AFTINET Convener Dr Patricia Ranald on the impacts of trade agreements on the environment. They discuss the growing use of ISDS cases by mining companies to sue governments for millions of dollars to prevent regulation to address climate change, and the global movement against this.
Hear the full podcast here.
February 4, 2019: US mining company Kappes, Cassiday & Associates’ (KCA) made a US$300 million arbitration claim last December against Guatemala to the World Bank´s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) over alleged violations of the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR).
January 23, 2019: Yesterday the ABC reported that Clive Palmer has moved ownership of his company to New Zealand, claimed to be an NZ company, and threatened to use an Australia-New Zealand trade agreement to sue Australian taxpayers for $45 billion because he claims the Western Australian government intends to pass legislation that would disadvantage his company.
January 8, 2019: Using the Investor-State Dispute provisions of the North America Free Trade Agreement, a USA mining company, Legacy Vulcan, lodged a claim for US$500 million against the Mexican government on January 3, 2019. It cited tax and environmental regulations in its claim, of which it first gave formal notice on September 3, 2018.
20 December 2018: Academic Kyla Tienhaara argues in The Conversation that fossil fuels have no future but companies are using ISDS to sue governments as they act to reduce carbon emissions.
December 16, 2018 Dr Patricia Ranald outlined AFTINET's vision for trade justice at a fringe event at the ALP conference,.
17 December 2018: AFTINET convener Dr Patricia Ranald writes in the Guardian on the risk that Adani could sue our government for millions through Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), should their mining licence be cancelled by a future government.
Yet another example of why Labor should implement its policy against ISDS in all trade agreements, and remove it from current deals like the TPP.
22 November 2018: Investment Arbitration Reporter has reported this week that US company Westmoreland Coal has filed a claim against the Canadian Government under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), because they anticipate profit loss when the province of Alberta phases out coal generated electricity.
Media Release 8 November 2018: “AFTINET welcomes the Labor Opposition initiative to revisit the Peru-Australia Free Trade Agreement (PAFTA) because it includes foreign investor rights to sue governments (ISDS) which the Shadow Trade Minister has pledged to oppose in all trade agreements,” AFTINET Convener Dr Patricia Ranald said today.
7 November 2018: George Kahale III, an internationally recognised expert on ISDS, in the keynote speech to an investment arbitration conference in Prague, has described the system as a ‘weapon of legal destruction’.