Ciel sends letter to USTRs Ambassador Zoellick regarding potential inclusion of the grant of jurisdiction in the Free Trade Area of the Americas

A letter from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) to U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Robert B. Zoellick opposing the inclusion of a specific grant of jurisdiction regarding investment agreements and authorizations in the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

• CIEL opposes the inclusion of a grant of jurisdiction in the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) similar to those found in the U.S.-Chile and U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), arguing that such grants allow private investors to bring arbitral claims against the U.S. for breaches of "an investment authorization" or "an investment agreement".
• The author contends that these jurisdictional grants negatively impact domestic legal systems by removing disputes from them, creating new avenues for investors to challenge domestic regulatory programs, and granting foreign investors superior treatment compared to U.S. domestic businesses.
• CIEL argues that disputes involving public assets, natural resources (such as oil, gas, timber, and water), and regulatory decisions regarding health, environment, communications, energy, and nuclear issues should be determined by U.S. law and the U.S. court system rather than by ad hoc arbitrators.
• The letter asserts that a separate jurisdictional grant is unnecessary because substantive expropriation disciplines already protect rights conferred by investment authorizations and agreements. The author claims the mechanism creates a "democracy deficit" by allowing foreign investors to bypass the judiciary.

APA

Magraw, D. (2003). Ciel sends letter to USTRs Ambassador Zoellick regarding potential inclusion of the grant of jurisdiction in the Free Trade Area of the Americas. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/news/ciel-sends-letter-to-ustrs-ambassador-zoellick-regarding-potential-inclusion-of-the-grant-of-jurisdiction-in-the-free-trade-area-of-the-americas/

Chicago

Magraw, Daniel. Ciel sends letter to USTRs Ambassador Zoellick regarding potential inclusion of the grant of jurisdiction in the Free Trade Area of the Americas. Center for International Environmental Law, 2003. https://www.ciel.org/news/ciel-sends-letter-to-ustrs-ambassador-zoellick-regarding-potential-inclusion-of-the-grant-of-jurisdiction-in-the-free-trade-area-of-the-americas/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Magraw |first1=Daniel |title=Ciel sends letter to USTRs Ambassador Zoellick regarding potential inclusion of the grant of jurisdiction in the Free Trade Area of the Americas |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=1 June 2003 |url=https://www.ciel.org/news/ciel-sends-letter-to-ustrs-ambassador-zoellick-regarding-potential-inclusion-of-the-grant-of-jurisdiction-in-the-free-trade-area-of-the-americas/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{magraw2003ciel, author = {Magraw, Daniel}, title = {{Ciel sends letter to USTRs Ambassador Zoellick regarding potential inclusion of the grant of jurisdiction in the Free Trade Area of the Americas}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2003}, month = jun, url = {https://www.ciel.org/news/ciel-sends-letter-to-ustrs-ambassador-zoellick-regarding-potential-inclusion-of-the-grant-of-jurisdiction-in-the-free-trade-area-of-the-americas/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }