How Corporate
Polluters Use
State--Investor
State
Provisions of Free
Trade Agreements
and Bilateral
Investment Treaties
To Undermine
Environmental
Protection www.gjae.org
a AE
PRINCIPLES
!
÷ at are Free Trade
Agreements?
Tariffs and Quotas
Investment Rules
Intellectual Property
Procurement Rules
Free Trade Agreements:
Core Environmental ustice, Ecological,
and Animal Rig ts Concerns
- Procurement rules undermine green, local, & umane purc asing
-Agriculture Included!
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NAFTA C apter
11 arants New
Protections to
Corporate
Y Investors
§etalclad sues §exico
- In t e mid-1990s, t e US firm, §etalclad,
attempted to build an incredibly environmentally
azardous landfill in San Luis Patosi, §exico but
was prevented by repeated political opposition.
- §etalclad sued
§exico in 1997
under C apter 11
of NAFTA,
winning t e case
and over $16
million dollars in
compensation for
lost profits.
Et yl Corp Neurotoxin Protected
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A group of Canadian cattlemen and feedlot owners soug t compensation for losses incurred
w en t e U.S. alted imports of live Canadian cattle after t e discovery of a case of BSE
(mad cow disease) in Canada in §ay 2003.
4 Claim dismissed on procedural grounds. Tribunal ruled t at t e cattlemen did
not ave standing to bring t e claim because t ey did not ave an investment in t e U.S., nor
did t ey intend to invest in t e U.S.
§et anex sues t e US
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A Canadian company is seeking damages over t e 1998 U.S.
Tobacco Settlement, w ic requires tobacco companies to
contribute to state escrow funds to elp defray medical costs of
smokers. urisdictional ruling dismissed some of t e claims as
time-barred, but permitted ot er claims relating to cigarettes sold
on Indian reservations to proceed to a earing on t e merits.
! T anks to NAFTA±
, Canada will
soon be mine!!!
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Lindane is a persistent
organic pollutant: it is
relatively long-lived in t e
environment, it is
transported long distances
by natural processes like
global distillation, and it can
bioaccumulate in food
c ains, t oug it is rapidly
eliminated w en exposure
is discontinued.
T e production of lindane generates large
amounts of waste exac lorocyclo exane
isomers, and it is estimated t at "every ton of
lindane manufactured produces about 9 tons of
toxic waste."
÷ en lindane is used in
agriculture, an estimated 12-
30% of it volatilizes into t e
atmosp ere, w ere it is
subject to long-range
transport and can be
deposited by rainfall.
Lindane in soil can leac to
surface and even ground
water and can
bioaccumulate in t e food
c ain. However,
biotransformation and
elimination are relatively
rapid w en exposure is
discontinued. [12] §ost
exposure of t e general
population to lindane as
resulted from agricultural
uses and t e intake of
foods, suc as produce,
meats and milk, produced
from treated agricultural
commodities
In 2009, governments around t e world added t e lindane to t e list of
c emicals targeted for global ban under t e Stock olm Convention
(POPs treaty). All agricultural uses of lindane will be p ased out under
t e treaty, and any production of t e neurotoxic pesticide is banned.
P armaceutical uses for control of lice and scabies will (using existing
stocks) are sc eduled for full p ase out by 2014.
So Crompton/
C emtura
dropped t e suit,
rig t...?
³At t e end of t e day, C emtura seeks to old t e [Canadian Pest
§anagement Regulatory Agency] responsible for t e fact t at it can no
longer profit from t e sale of a toxic c emical t at as been
internationally banned based on demonstrated ealt and
environmental concerns´
-- Canada¶s counter memorial.
³÷ en you read t roug a lot of t ese cases, you find somet ing
missing ± namely common sense.´
-
Toxic 2,
2,4-D
Symptoms of 2,4-D poisoning in exposed people include irritation and inflammation of eyes and skin,
ives, nausea, vomiting, t roat irritation, eadac e, dizziness, coug ing, and difficulty breat ing.
New studies indicate t at 2,4-D reduces fertility in several ways. 2,4-D exposure is associated wit low
sperm counts.
2,4-D (and t e entire family of p enoxy erbicides) is classified as possibly carcinogenic by t e
International Agency for Researc on Cancer. Studies of exposed farmers support t is classification.
According to t e most recent data collected by t e U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, some 2,4-D
is contaminated wit 2,3,7,8-TCDD, a potent dioxin.
§onitoring by t e U.S. aeological Survey s owed t at 2,4-D is frequently found in rivers and streams. It
is also often measured in air samples.
2,4-D causes genetic damage in plants in amounts too small to cause visible damage to t e plants.D
causes genetic damage in plants in amounts too small to cause visible damage to t e plants.
§onitoring by t e U.S. aeological Survey s owed t at 2,4-D is frequently found in rivers and streams. It
is also often measured in air samples.
2,4--D use on lawns is linked
2,4
wit an increased risk
of cancer in dogs.
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Pacific Rim vs.
El Salvador
Canadian mining company,
Pacific Rim is already bringing
a law suit against El Salvador,
because El Salvador cancelled
t eir permit to mine to conduct
open pit cyanide leac gold
mining near El Salvador's
major river, t e country's
primary source of water..
a AE and Trade ustice NY §etro activists give away mock cyanide
tainted water in front of t e Canadian Consulate in New York City on t e
first day of earings on Pacific Rim's case against El Salvador at t e
÷orld Bank's International Center for t e Settlement of Trade Disputes,
w ic arbitrates DR-CAFTA cases.
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Pelosi's Big Deal!
Top Contributers in 2006 Total$
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House ÷ays and §eans C air C arlie Rangel grabs corporate cas and
colludes wit an Occidental Petroleum corporate lobbyist to pass Cowboy
Bus 's US-Peru Free Trade Agreement in a Trade ustice NY §etro street
t eater performance in front of Representative Rangel's office.
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