IISD Statement to the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade

This document is a statement delivered by Scott Vaughan, President and CEO of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), to the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade on May 1, 2018. Vaughan provides perspectives on a potential free trade agreement between Canada and MERCOSUR, advocating for the inclusion of progressive trade policies, sustainability standards, and a shift in investment protection models.

• IISD supports a Canada-MERCOSUR free trade agreement as a means for Canada to diversify trade relations and deepen engagement with hemispheric partners, noting that MERCOSUR represents over 300 million people and aims to support the rule of law and democratic governance.
• The IISD recommends that a Canada-MERCOSUR agreement include an ambitious environmental chapter for the accelerated liberalization of Environmental Goods and Services (EGS), citing a global EGS market valued at US$ 866 billion per year with forecasts reaching USD$1.9 trillion by 2020.
• IISD suggests that the agreement should incorporate sustainability standards, including eco-labels and corporate social responsibility (CSR) standards, similar to the CETA model. This should cover clean-technology and commodities such as sustainable forestry, fisheries, agriculture, and mining operations.
• Regarding investment, IISD proposes adopting a model based on Brazil's 2014 approach, which prioritizes investment facilitation and cooperation over investment protection. This model emphasizes dispute avoidance and state-state dispute settlement rather than adversarial investor-state dispute settlement.
• The statement calls for enhanced investor accountability by ensuring that individuals and communities harmed by investment projects have access to justice in the home state courts of the investors. Additionally, the negotiations are seen as an opportunity to replace outdated investment treaties between Canada and Uruguay and Argentina.

APA

Vaughan, S. (2017). IISD Statement to the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/iisd-statement-house-commons-standing-committee-international-trade

Chicago

Vaughan, Scott. IISD Statement to the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2017. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/iisd-statement-house-commons-standing-committee-international-trade.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Vaughan |first1=Scott |title=IISD Statement to the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=1 May 2017 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/iisd-statement-house-commons-standing-committee-international-trade |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{vaughan2017iisd, author = {Vaughan, Scott}, title = {{IISD Statement to the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade}}, publisher = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2017}, month = may, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/iisd-statement-house-commons-standing-committee-international-trade}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }