Contributing Lawyers

Canada

Cyndee Todgham Cherniak

United States

Susan Kohn Ross

Australia

Andrew Hudson

Canada-Peru FTA Enters into Force August 1, 2009

On August 1, 2009, the Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement entered into force and effect.  As a result, as of August 1, 2009, two way trade between Canada and Peru becomes duty free on a significant percentage of the...

Can Trade and Climate Change Evolve Harmoneously Together?

On June 26, 2009, the World Trade Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) launched a joint report on trade and climate change which examines the intersections between trade and climate change from four...

Canada and Jordan Sign Free Trade Agreement, Environmental Agreement, Labour Agreement and FIPPA

On June 28, 2009, Canada's International Trade Minister, Stockwell Day, announced that Canada and Jordan have signed a free trade agreement. In addition, Canada and Jordan signed Labour and Environmental Cooperation Agreements...

Canada's Environment Minister on U.S. Climate Change Bill

On May 15, 2009, Canada's National Post newspaper ran an article entitled "U.S. Climate bill would be 'disaster'". For a copy of the well-written article, please go to the following link -...

Is Anybody in Canada Watching? - The Meetings in Bonn to Prepare for the Copenhagen Meetings in December 2009 Must Be Monitored Closely

The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Meeting will be held in Copenhagen from December 7 - 18, 2009. The goal of this meeting is to sign an ambitious and effective climate change agreement. It is expected that 192 countries will...

Canada Updates Foreign Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement with Latvia

On may 5, 2009, Canada's International Trade Minister, Stockwell Day, announced that Canad and Latvia has signed an updated Foreign Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement (FIPA) (Canada's version of a bilateral investment...

What C---? - Environmentalists Blame the Swine Flu on NAFTA

I was shocked to read an articles in the Toronto Star entitled "Blame NAFTA for swine flu, experts say" that NAFTA is to blame for swine flu in Mexico. To read the article, go to the following link -...

Launch of the EFIC Global Readiness Index underlines need for Trade Finance

On 20 April 2009, the Australian Government's Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC) (see www.efic.gov.au) released it second Global Readiness Index Report (Index) (see www.efic.gov.au/gri/report)

 

The Index...

USTR Promises to Fight Protectionism in the World

On March 31, 2009, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) transmitted to Congress the 2009 National Trade Estimate Report.  The USTR plans to “aggressively defend our rights and benefits under the rules-based trading...

Canadian Company Considers Suing El Salvador

On December 9, 2008, a Canadian mining company, Pacific Rim Mining Corp., using its Nevada-based subsidiary Pac Rim Cayman LLC, filed a Notice of Intent under the investment provisions of the CAFTA-DR (that is the...

What Does a Harper Minority Government Mean for Free Trade?

On October 14, 2008, the Conservative Party of Canada won 143 seats (subject to change upon a few recounts in tight ridings) and Prime Minister Harper won a stronger minority government.  A minority government can be...

Canada's NDP Borrow From Obama - Pledging to Renegotiate NAFTA

NDP Leader, Jack Layton, has said that if the New Democratic Party win the election, they will renegotiate the labour and environmental provisions of NAFTA.  This should not surprise anyone who is familiar with the...

Ontario Proposes 10 Year Provincial Income Tax Exemption for Qualifying Businesses that Commercialize Intellectual Property

In the 2008 Ontario Budget delivered by Minister of Finance, Dwight Duncan on March 25, 2008, Ontario proposed a new 10-year income tax exemption for new corporations that commercialize intellectual property in Ontario developed...

Which Canadian Politicians Said What About NAFTA Before Senators Clinton and Obama

There is a lot of NAFTA-bashing by the left-leaning politicians on both sides of the Canada-United States border.  As a law professor teaching a course on NAFTA and bilateral trading arrangements at case Western Reserve...

NAFTA vs PNTR

The following editorial appeared on Boston.com, a web-site related to the Boston Globe.  The author makes a good point - however, Senators Clinton and Obama would not, as President, have the authority to kick China out of...

Changes to NAFTA Procurred By Threats Would Be Without Legal Effect

When Senator Obama talked about renegotiating parts of NAFTA, he said:

“I will make sure that we renegotiate ... I think we should use the hammer of a potential opt-out as leverage to ensure that we actually get labour and...