Extract from committee stage (Commons) of the Trade Bill (Fifth sitting) - Jan 30
Wednesday, 31 January 2018 08:23
Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab):...There have been more than
800 ISDS cases brought by foreign investors against their host
countries. Some Governments have been forced to back down from
introducing perfectly reasonable social or environmental measures.
In the first ISDS case brought against Germany under the energy
charter treaty, the Swedish power company Vattenfall sued
in relation to its new coal-fired power plant outside Hamburg. The
authorities were forced to drop the...Request free trial
(Bradford South)
(Lab):...There have been more than 800 ISDS cases brought
by foreign investors against their host countries. Some Governments
have been forced to back down from introducing perfectly reasonable
social or environmental measures. In the first ISDS case brought
against Germany under the energy charter treaty, the Swedish power
company Vattenfall sued in relation to its new
coal-fired power plant outside Hamburg. The authorities were forced
to drop the environmental conditions designed to protect the water
quality of the River Elbe. In the infamous case brought against
Canada under the ISDS provisions of the North American Free Trade
Agreement, the US company Ethyl successfully sued the Canadian
Government over their ban on the use of the fuel additive MMT. The
ban had been introduced on public health grounds to guard against
the inhalation of particles of manganese, which is known to be a
neurotoxin. When the ISDS tribunal ruled against Canada’s
procedural defence, it settled the claim by paying $13 million to
Ethyl, rescinding the ban and issuing a public apology...
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