Canada’s sanctions against Russia and Ukraine are a moving target and are expanded on an ongoing basis, particularly in light of the evolving situation in that part of the world. This note adds to comments I made previously on this Blog. I anticipate that Canada will tighten the Russian sanctions in light of the downing… Read More »
There is growing debate about foreign investment protection agreements – what Canada calls “FIPAs”, the Americans call bilateral investment treaties or “BITs” and what others refer to simply as international investment agreements or “IIAs”. Acronyms abound. According to the UN Conference on Trade and Development, there are 3,200 of these around the world, proliferating in… Read More »
The Council of Canadians, the self-styled champion of the public interest, has blasted governments for their collective secrecy in the TPP negotiations being held in Ottawa July 3-12. They issued demands for access to TPP negotiating documents and, in effect, for virtual inclusion the TPP talks on an ongoing basis. This is a standard ploy… Read More »
One of the growing concerns in trade law is the long, dense and over-wordy WTO panel and Appellate Body decisions. These decisions run in the hundreds and hundreds of pages in densely-typed and often opaque paragraphs, vexing lawyers (let alone non-lawyers) in trying to grasp the meaning and long-term impact of these judgements. It’s puzzling… Read More »
This was an op-ed piece of mine published on May 9, 2014, in the Financial Post. Lawrence L. Herman: If a TPA bill is ever passed, Obama’s authority will likely be on a tight leash The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations continue to move along, with Japan now intensively involved and the government of South Korea… Read More »
This was an op-ed of mine in the on-line version of the Globe and Mail (Toronto), 29 April 2014. It elicited many comments. Approval of Keystone XL suffers delay after delay. Whether one is for or against, it’s obvious the project has become hostage to the unpredictable forces of American politics. It’s hard to get… Read More »
There are now 41 individuals listed as designated persons plus three Russian banks. This extends the scope of the sanctions that were promulgated in March. For Canadian businesses, the critical part of the sanctions is the following: 3. It is prohibited for any person in Canada and any Canadian outside Canada to (a) deal in any… Read More »
A note on problems in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations. The Obama administration still doesn’t have legal negotiating authority – called Trade Promotion Authority or “fast track” – something only the Congress can provide. And Congress is so far NOT moving ahead with the required legislation. Canadian officials keep saying “Don’t worry. Be happy. It’s… Read More »
As widely known, Canada has applied sanctions against Russia as a result of that country’s aggressive actions in Crimea. The Canadian sanctions flow from a law called the Special Economic Measures Act, which gives broad authority to the federal cabinet to apply sanctions where it is of the opinion that, “. . . a grave… Read More »
Here is a piece I wrote as an op-ed in the Financial Post on 25 February 2014. Lawrence L. Herman: Big Three stall Canada-Korea trade deal Special to Financial Post | February 25, 2014 The tug-of-war in Canada’s long-delayed trade agreement with South Korea, reported regularly in this newspaper, continues. It’s not a happy story. Pulling… Read More »