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ARTICLE · 24 OCTOBER 2018

USMCA Trade Deal And The Environment

Siskinds LLP
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On September 30, 2018, the United States, Mexico, and Canada announced the completion of negotiations of a new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement

CanadaEnvironment
Michael Connell
Michael Connell
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On September 30, 2018, the United States, Mexico, and Canada announced the completion of negotiations of a new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement ("USMCA") that will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement ("NAFTA").

While much commentary has already been written about the winners and losers in the new USMCA, the results for the environment are less than obvious. As expected, USMCA includes a chapter on environmental cooperation (Chapter 24).  It replaces the former North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation ("NAAEC"), which was a side treaty to NAFTA.

The purpose of Chapter 24 is to "promote mutually supportive trade and environmental policies and practices".  The Agreement recognizes that is "inappropriate" to either (1) "establish or use... environmental laws... in a manner which would constitute a disguised restriction on trade or investment" or to (2) "encourage trade or investment by weakening or reducing the protection afforded in

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