Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 12 of 12
Full-Text Articles in Law
Meaning, Ambiguity And Legitimacy: Judicial (Re-)Construction Of Nafta Chapter 11, Ari Afilalo
Meaning, Ambiguity And Legitimacy: Judicial (Re-)Construction Of Nafta Chapter 11, Ari Afilalo
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) benignly named the "Investment Chapter," is a theater for some of the most advanced issues of 21st century international law and adjudication. The Chapter gives private parties the right to challenge national policies that burden their ability to do business freely. It empowers arbitral tribunals to assess damages against the governments of NAFTA parties. The adjudicators, as this Article illustrates, render opinions with a constitutional flavor in that they assess the validity of domestic norms against larger principles of international economic law. In a drastic move away from classical century …
Shedding Light On Article 1110 Of The North American Free Trade Agreement(Nafta)Concerning Expropriations: An Environmental Case Study, Jason L. Gudofsky
Shedding Light On Article 1110 Of The North American Free Trade Agreement(Nafta)Concerning Expropriations: An Environmental Case Study, Jason L. Gudofsky
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
By focusing on the provision of Chapter 11 that has elicited the most fervent debate, namely Article 1110 concerning expropriations, this paper attempts to pick through the verbiage regarding, and shed light on, the meaning of Article 1110. To illustrate the discussion, the acquisition of MacMillan Bloedel Limited ("MB"), the then largest forest company in Canada, by Weyerhaeuser Company ("Weyerhaeuser") on November 1, 1999 to create a major global forest company (the "MB Acquisition") is examined.
Trade In Technology Within The Free Trade Zone: The Impact Of The Wto Agreement, Nafta, And Tax Treaties On The Nafta Signatories, Catherine Brown, Christine Manolakas
Trade In Technology Within The Free Trade Zone: The Impact Of The Wto Agreement, Nafta, And Tax Treaties On The Nafta Signatories, Catherine Brown, Christine Manolakas
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
Trade in technology and related services has assumed a major role both on the world trade agenda and within the NAFTA block. The success of such cross-border trade is dependent upon three factors: protection of intellectual property,' access to foreign markets by service providers, and a minimized risk of double taxation. Each of these factors is impacted by national laws, multinational conventions, and bilateral tax treaties. The last decade has witnessed an explosion of such legislation and agreements. This article focuses on Canada, Mexico and the United States, and explores the World Trade Organization Agreement ("WTO Agreement"), the North American …
Accountability And International Lawmaking: Rules, Rents And Legitimacy, Paul B. Stephan
Accountability And International Lawmaking: Rules, Rents And Legitimacy, Paul B. Stephan
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
The domain of legal rules laid down by international bodies has grown enormously. Laws that have an international source influence a far larger portion of the world's commerce today than they did sixty or even twenty years ago. The enhanced significance and conse- quences of these laws raises an important question: What safeguards do we employ to increase the chances that they will do some good? More specifically, what processes hold international lawmakers ac- countable for their decisions?
Foundation-Building For Western Hemispheric Integration, Frederick M. Abbott
Foundation-Building For Western Hemispheric Integration, Frederick M. Abbott
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
The United States is embarked upon an ambitious program of western hemispheric economic integration about which its domestic body politic is decidedly ambivalent. The process in which the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was approved in 1993 re- vealed deep divisions between the major political parties and their various interest group constituencies concerning the appropriate scope of an economic integration agenda. The Mexican peso crisis that began in December 1994 provoked a deep crisis of confidence regarding Mexico's readiness to participate in a mature economic partnership with the United States and Canada. Subsequent revela- tions relating to corruption infecting …
Constructing Democracy In The North American Free Trade Area, Alexandra Maravel
Constructing Democracy In The North American Free Trade Area, Alexandra Maravel
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
This paper focuses on the implementing mechanisms, examining their character and implications for regional government as the possibility of a hemisphere-wide free trade area looms across the Americas. The essential problem is how to define the political framework that Canada, Mexico, and the United States are creating. It is not clear that it is an inherently demo- cratic regime. The regime, created to oversee the complex system of trading rules, is arguably (and paradoxically) necessary to ensure "free" trade, but it may undermine the very emergent regional democ- racy it seeks to empower.
Nafta And The Environment: A Trade-Friendly Approach, Bradly J. Condon
Nafta And The Environment: A Trade-Friendly Approach, Bradly J. Condon
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
Although the North American Free Trade Agreement, (NAFTA), contains more detailed environmental provisions than any previous trade agreement,' only some of them are mandatory. These mandatory NAFTA environmental rules purport to prevent the use of environmental policy instruments as disguised barriers to trade. Since most human activities have some impact on the environment, a vast array of government regulation could potentially be characterized as relating to the environment. This fact increases the risk that domestic industries will exploit political discretion over environmental policy implementation to put foreign competitors at a disadvantage by raising non-tariff barriers to trade. It is important …
The Fatal Flaw In Nafta, Gatt And All Other Trade Agreements, Robert W. Mcgee
The Fatal Flaw In Nafta, Gatt And All Other Trade Agreements, Robert W. Mcgee
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
Although the North American Free Trade Agreement, (NAFTA), contains more detailed environmental provisions than any previous trade agreement,' only some of them are mandatory. These mandatory NAFTA environmental rules purport to prevent the use of environmental policy instruments as disguised barriers to trade. Since most human activities have some impact on the environment, a vast array of government regulation could potentially be characterized as relating to the environment. This fact increases the risk that domestic industries will exploit political discretion over environmental policy implementation to put foreign competitors at a disadvantage by raising non-tariff barriers to trade. It is important …
Economic Integration In The Americas: A Work In Progress, Kenneth W. Abbott, Gregory W. Bowman
Economic Integration In The Americas: A Work In Progress, Kenneth W. Abbott, Gregory W. Bowman
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
In the next section of the article, we provide an overview of the major subregional groupings and other institutional relationships now being created throughout Latin America. In Section III, we suggest two major goals that should guide the process of economic integration in the Americas: maintaining the multilateral economic system as the highest priority for the region and achieving regional integration at the hemispheric level. We then outline the principal approaches to economic integration currently being followed, or proposed, within the region-including bilateral agreements, subregional groupings, the expansion of NAFrA, and arrangements of continental scaleand assess these approaches as methods …
Nafta's Rule Of Origin And Its Effect On The North American Automotive Industry, Jonathan M. Cooper
Nafta's Rule Of Origin And Its Effect On The North American Automotive Industry, Jonathan M. Cooper
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
This comment will specifically address how NAFTA's rule of origin requirement will affect the North American automotive industry. To provide a thorough understanding of this topic, this comment will (1) discuss how NAFTA evolved and detail the remaining procedural steps necessary for its enactment; (2) briefly discuss the current North American automotive industry; (3) compare and contrast rule of origin requirements under previous FTAs; and (4) analyze NAFTA's proposed rule of origin requirement and its potential effects on the North American automotive industry.
Motor Freight Brokers: A Tale Of Federal Regulatory Pandemonium, Jeffrey S. Kinsler
Motor Freight Brokers: A Tale Of Federal Regulatory Pandemonium, Jeffrey S. Kinsler
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
Most brokerage problems are traceable to the troubled history of freight brokers, which has been a constant struggle between regulation and deregulation. Arguably, brokers have been subjected to more extremist regulation than any other industry during the last fifty years. The pattern of extremism began when Congress imposed massive regulations on freight brokers as part of the Motor Carrier Act of 1935. The 1935 regulations completely stifled the U.S. brokerage industry. Forty-five years later, Congress moved to the other regulatory extreme when it passed the Motor Carrier Act of 1980,6 which virtually deregulated the brokerage industry The eased entry controls …
Providing Fair Conditions Of Competition Under The Free Trade Agreements Of The European Economic Community, E.J. Mestmacker
Providing Fair Conditions Of Competition Under The Free Trade Agreements Of The European Economic Community, E.J. Mestmacker
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
Professor Mestmacker analyzes the competition provisions of the Free Trade Agreements that the Community has negotiated with many of its trading partners. The direct applicability of these provisions by reference to the standards of Community law is considered and rejected Professor Mestmacker then develops the relevant standards for applying these provisions to commerce between the Community and its trading partners.