Re: Oppose H.R. 3009, the Fast Track Conference Report

A coalition of environmental organizations urged the U.S. Congress to oppose H.R. 3009 (the fast track conference report), arguing that it fails to protect environmental standards, grants excessive rights to foreign investors, and lacks enforcement parity for environmental provisions compared to commercial ones.

• The authors argue that H.R. 3009 fails to address issues regarding investor lawsuit rules, specifically citing concerns that it does not prevent foreign investors from making unjustified challenges to non-discriminatory environmental protections. Furthermore, they claim the bill does not ensure that international companies' expropriation rights are limited to those established by U.S. Supreme Court case law, nor does it limit "minimum treatment" rules to the Constitutional due process standard.
• The conference report is criticized for lacking parity between the enforcement of commercial and environmental provisions. The authors highlight language added by Senator Gramm (R-TX) that would restrict the use of trade measures when countries fail to enforce environmental laws, describing the report as a regression from the NAFTA environmental side agreement and the Jordan Free Trade Agreement.
• The document identifies additional environmental risks in the conference report, including insufficient protection for Multilateral Environmental Agreements and minimal assistance for other countries to improve environmental standards. It also asserts that the report would hinder environmental progress by attacking consumer labeling as a trade barrier and promoting harmful regulatory tests.

APA

Porter, S., Dewey, R., Hayden, M., Zdeb, S., Durbin, A., Minette, M., Shultz, L., Curtis, K., Joffe, P., Campaigne, A., Seligman, D., & Aurilio, A. (2002). Re: Oppose H.R. 3009, the Fast Track Conference Report. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/news/u-s-fast-track-conference-bill-neither-reflects-americas-environmental-values-nor-addresses-fundamental-problems-with-investment-rules/

Chicago

Porter, Stephen, Robert Dewey, Martin Hayden, Sara Zdeb, Andrea Durbin, Mary Minette, Lexi Shultz, et al. Re: Oppose H.R. 3009, the Fast Track Conference Report. Center for International Environmental Law, 2002. https://www.ciel.org/news/u-s-fast-track-conference-bill-neither-reflects-americas-environmental-values-nor-addresses-fundamental-problems-with-investment-rules/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Porter |first1=Stephen |last2=Dewey |first2=Robert |last3=Hayden |first3=Martin |last4=Zdeb |first4=Sara |last5=Durbin |first5=Andrea |last6=Minette |first6=Mary |last7=Shultz |first7=Lexi |last8=Curtis |first8=Kevin |last9=Joffe |first9=Paul |display-authors=etal |title=Re: Oppose H.R. 3009, the Fast Track Conference Report |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=1 July 2002 |url=https://www.ciel.org/news/u-s-fast-track-conference-bill-neither-reflects-americas-environmental-values-nor-addresses-fundamental-problems-with-investment-rules/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{porter2002oppose, author = {Porter, Stephen and Dewey, Robert and Hayden, Martin and Zdeb, Sara and Durbin, Andrea and Minette, Mary and Shultz, Lexi and Curtis, Kevin and Joffe, Paul and Campaigne, Alyssondra and Seligman, Dan and Aurilio, Anna}, title = {{Re: Oppose H.R. 3009, the Fast Track Conference Report}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2002}, month = jul, url = {https://www.ciel.org/news/u-s-fast-track-conference-bill-neither-reflects-americas-environmental-values-nor-addresses-fundamental-problems-with-investment-rules/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }