To: President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
.@POTUS: Show How TPP Would Stop Keystone XL NAFTA Suit
Just Foreign Policy
President Obama should show how the TPP agreement would prevent ISDS suits like TransCanada has filed under NAFTA against rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline.
Why is this important?
One of the most controversial aspects of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement is “Investor-State Dispute Settlement,” or ISDS - corporations suing governments in retaliation for laws or regulations that they claim reduce their profits. As Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote, "ISDS would allow foreign companies to challenge U.S. laws — and potentially to pick up huge payouts from taxpayers — without ever stepping foot in a U.S. court." [1] In response to criticism of ISDS provisions in the TPP agreement from Senator Warren, Senator Sanders, [2] and others, the White House promised to put "stronger safeguards" on ISDS in the TPP. [3]
Now Canadian oil company TransCanada has announced that it will sue the U.S. government for $15 billion dollars under the ISDS provisions of NAFTA for rejecting TransCanada’s controversial plan to build the Keystone XL pipeline. [4] Carroll Muffett, President of the Center for International Environmental Law, said: "TransCanada has proven what concerned citizens have argued for decades – that the primary purpose of ISDS is to subvert democratic processes and the public interest, in the name of private profit. It has demonstrated to the citizens of the United States, and the world, why these provisions have no place in new trade agreements." [5]
Urge the Administration to show Congress and the American people how its claimed "stronger safeguards" on ISDS in the proposed TPP would prevent the Keystone XL NAFTA lawsuit by signing our petition.
References:
1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/kill-the-dispute-settlement-language-in-the-trans-pacific-partnership/2015/02/25/ec7705a2-bd1e-11e4-b274-e5209a3bc9a9_story.html
2. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/the-tpp-must-be-defeated_b_7352166.html
3. https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/02/26/investor-state-dispute-settlement-isds-questions-and-answers
4. http://time.com/4170966/keystone-pipeline-canada-lawsuit/
5. http://www.ciel.org/news/8886/
Now Canadian oil company TransCanada has announced that it will sue the U.S. government for $15 billion dollars under the ISDS provisions of NAFTA for rejecting TransCanada’s controversial plan to build the Keystone XL pipeline. [4] Carroll Muffett, President of the Center for International Environmental Law, said: "TransCanada has proven what concerned citizens have argued for decades – that the primary purpose of ISDS is to subvert democratic processes and the public interest, in the name of private profit. It has demonstrated to the citizens of the United States, and the world, why these provisions have no place in new trade agreements." [5]
Urge the Administration to show Congress and the American people how its claimed "stronger safeguards" on ISDS in the proposed TPP would prevent the Keystone XL NAFTA lawsuit by signing our petition.
References:
1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/kill-the-dispute-settlement-language-in-the-trans-pacific-partnership/2015/02/25/ec7705a2-bd1e-11e4-b274-e5209a3bc9a9_story.html
2. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/the-tpp-must-be-defeated_b_7352166.html
3. https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/02/26/investor-state-dispute-settlement-isds-questions-and-answers
4. http://time.com/4170966/keystone-pipeline-canada-lawsuit/
5. http://www.ciel.org/news/8886/