Trade Barriers to the Public Good

Know about the book -

Trade Barriers to the Public Good is written by Alex C. Michalos and published by McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. It's available with International Standard Book Number or ISBN identification 0773578595 (ISBN 10) and 9780773578593 (ISBN 13).

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) were designed to strengthen investor's rights at the expense of community rights and environmental protection. Both deals have achieved their aims. Trade Barriers to the Public Good provides a detailed examination of NAFTA and AIT cases involving MMT - a chemical additive brought into Canada by the US company Ethyl Corporation Inc. When the Canadian federal government banned the importation of MMT under the Fuel Additives Act, Ethyl Corp. filed a claim under NAFTA Chapter 11 seeking US $201 million in damages. Alex Michalos uses a case study of MMT to reveal exactly how and why quasi-judicial international dispute processes provide significantly less protection for the public interest than the routine procedures for passing an ordinary Act of Parliament. Trade Barriers to the Public Good illustrates why and how constitutionally protected democratic rights are undermined by trade deals such as the one involving MMT and, failing termination of NAFTA and AIT - the author's first choice for remedial action - recommends precise changes in dispute settlement rules that are needed to protect individuals and the environment.