投资资本权利扩张与管制的辩证法--FTAA投资规则的规范分析

文章对FTAA有关投资规则进行了规范分析,并在与NAFTA有关规定进行比较的基础上,对FTAA投资规则草案所反映的投资资本权利扩张和东道国对其的管制之间的博弈关系进行了思考.     

Energy and CO2 emission relationships in the NAFTA trading bloc: a multi-regional multi-factor energy input–output approach

The North-America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has brought together the economies of Canada, Mexico, and the US into forming one of the largest trading blocs worldwide (within the top CO₂ emitters). However, the current global protectionist discourse threatens the agreement. This paper analyzes the energy and energy-related CO₂ emission relationships between NAFTA countries in 2014 to gain insights into the climate change implications of current integration and the possible cancelation of the agreement. The analysis is performed with a multi-regional version of the multi-factor energy input–output model. The results show that NAFTA has not built a single integrated energy system, though it has helped reduce energy-related CO₂ emissions. Moreover, if NAFTA is not revoked, further integration would depend on the capacity of the Mexican energy sector to converge to the performance of its trade partners’ energy sectors. Conversely, a broken deal would induce negative environmental externalities.     

Agriculture in the United States,Mexico, Canada Agreement: Agreeing to keep things pretty much the same

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was referred to by U.S. President Trump as one of the worst trade deals ever made. Given this billing, one might have expected the result of its renegotiation to be a major change to the trading relationship between the United States and Canada. The new United States, Mexico, Canada Agreement (USMCA), however, retains a great deal of its predecessor. This is particularly true for agricultural trade. Canadian market access into the United States remains virtually unchanged. No major domestic regulatory changes were agreed to by Canada. While there were concessions made on market access for U.S. products into Canada's heavily protected sectors where the supply management policy applies, they do not appear to threaten the system. While the value of the compensation has not yet been announced, compensation for losses that will be suffered by farmers producing under supply management is agreed in principle. The USMCA is an agreement to keep things pretty much the same.     

How did investor‐state dispute settlement get a bad rap? Blame it on NAFTA,of course

In the short history of the US bilateral investment treaty (BIT) programme, there have been no instances of dispute settlement cases initiated against the United States by firms from BIT countries. The NAFTA experience changed that. Where other studies have only hinted at the reasons for NAFTA controversies, this paper makes clear three causal factors: (i) changing patterns and intensity of FDI, (ii) the application of those rules to developed countries amid those changing FDI patterns and (iii) ambiguities in ISDS rules themselves. The paper explores these and traces the ways in which lessons of the NAFTA have been instrumental in changing the pursuit of investment protection agreements. BITs used to be uncontroversial, but the NAFTA focused attention on reforms to ISDS that maintain the utility of BITs in the governance of FDI, without creating a legal structure for simply challenging the state.     

Corporate Strategy and NAFTA When Environmental Regulations Are Barriers to Trade

SUMMARY

Under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), domestic environmental regulations can have the ultimate impact of erecting entry barriers against foreign companies. These actions by domestic firms are part of a corporate “shelter”-seeking strategy. Five recent cases are analyzed out of twenty-four environmental disputes relevant to NAFTA.     

Perceived Value of Mexican vs. US Products in Mexico,Venezuela and the United States

Abstract

With the advent of NAFTA and the liberalization of Latin American markets, Mexican firms have gained new strategic options, many of which revolve around exporting regionally or to the United States and Canada. The studies explore consumer reactions to Mexican products. The first study compares value perceptions of a cross-national sample of Mexican, US and Venezuelan respondents toward US and Mexican products. It also explores the moderating effects of product content and financial risk on value differentials. The second study, limited to Mexican and Venezuelan respondents, looks for evidence of a home country bias. While the strategy implications for Mexican products differ according to a product's level of content and financial risk, the studies indicate that inter-regional trade is a viable possibility.     

评NAFTA案例之UPS v.Canada及其对我国的启示

美国联邦包裹速递公司诉加拿大案(UPS·v.Canada),是NAFTA"投资人诉投资东道国"争端解决机制历史上的第一个关于"公共服务"的投资争端案件.该案件无论是在程序问题上还是在实体问题上都有值得高度重视的地方,它将对NAFTA三个成员国内的所有公共服务领域产生重大的影响.     

北美自由贸易区:特点、运行机制、借鉴与启示

北美自由贸易区的建立与运行，体现出“南”、“北”共存性、一国主导性和经济互补性的明显特点，这些特点同拟议建立的中国-东盟自由贸易区可能存在诸多“相通”之处。因此，认真研究和深入探讨北美自由贸易区的运行机制以及北美自由贸易区建立近10年来取得的成效和存在的问题，可以为未来建立中国-东盟自由贸易区，并促进其稳定运行、实现其建设目标，提供有价值的借鉴与启示。     

美墨卡车跨境运输争端案及其启示

卡车跨境运输争端是美国与墨西哥在《北美自由贸易协定》下发生的涉及卡车跨境运输的服务贸易争端。该争端前后历时16年之久,全面展现了美国国内利益集团在对外贸易政策制定方面的影响力,更凸显了美国“实用主义”的国际法观及其对外贸易政策制定的国内政治博弈特点。而该争端的解决为世界各国如何在多边贸易体制中处理与贸易相关的社会问题提供了有益的借鉴。