Statement of Carroll Muffett on TransCanada Lawsuit Using the Investment Chapter of NAFTA

Carroll Muffett of the Center for International Environmental Law criticizes TransCanada's use of the Investment Chapter of NAFTA to sue the United States for over $15 billion, citing this as evidence that investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) allows corporations to bypass democratic decisions made in the public interest, specifically regarding the Keystone XL pipeline.

• TransCanada filed a lawsuit against the United States for more than $15 billion utilizing the Investment Chapter of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
• Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), found in approximately 3,000 Free Trade Agreements, is characterized as a tool that enables corporations to sue governments over decisions made for the broader public interest and to subvert democratic processes for private profit.
• The author suggests that the TransCanada lawsuit serves as a warning against including similar ISDS provisions in the TransPacific Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2016). Statement of Carroll Muffett on TransCanada Lawsuit Using the Investment Chapter of NAFTA. https://www.ciel.org/news/8886/

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Statement of Carroll Muffett on TransCanada Lawsuit Using the Investment Chapter of NAFTA. 2016. https://www.ciel.org/news/8886/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Statement of Carroll Muffett on TransCanada Lawsuit Using the Investment Chapter of NAFTA |date=7 January 2016 |url=https://www.ciel.org/news/8886/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2016statement, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Statement of Carroll Muffett on TransCanada Lawsuit Using the Investment Chapter of NAFTA}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2016}, month = jan, url = {https://www.ciel.org/news/8886/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }