This comment looks at the 1977 Pipeline Treaty, binding on the United States, designed especially to guaranty unimpeded pipeline transit. It was approved by the U.S. Senate (including by then Senator Biden) specifically to prevent any state or province from interfering with hydrocarbon shipments. This means the U.S. president has to take steps to ensure… Read More »
This is an opinion piece of mine in the Globe & Mail (Toronto), 20 April 2021, commenting on how private sector actions – such as guidelines, standards and certifications – can affect international business and trade. These are developments that don’t depend on, and are separate from, governmental actions like statutes or treaties. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-reshoring-initiative-targets-behaviours-not-laws/
This comment deals with the legal and geopolitical ramifications of the recent EU-China investment treaty. It notes that Canada also has an investment agreement with China, concluded at a different time and when there was seen to be value in this kind of deal with China. Investment Treaty with China Raises Concerns-Globe 14 Jan 2021
This article was done by me and Alexander Herman, Institute of Art and Law, London, U.K., in commemoration of the 50th anniversary, in November 2020, of the groundbreaking UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export & Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. UNESCO Convention at 50
This memo issued by the Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI) looks at certain American trade laws and whether Canada could use some of these US models more effectively, to the benefit of open markets and Canadian commercial interests, while sticking to WTO rules. Surgical Use of Cdn Trade Laws – CGAI Nov 2020