Renegotiation of NAFTA: An opportunity for sustainable development / La renegociación del TLCAN: una oportunidad para el desarrollo sostenible

The author contends that NAFTA's original framework treated environmental and labour issues as parallel agreements rather than integral components. While Mexico developed robust environmental legislation and institutions like the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources following NAFTA, economic growth has still led to environmental degradation costing 7% of Mexico's annual GDP. The author highlights the investor-state dispute mechanism in Chapter 11 as a critical area for reform, noting it has been used to challenge environmental regulations as de facto expropriations, resulting in $170 million in claims against Canada and $240 million against Mexico. The document suggests that the renegotiation should align the treaty with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and empower the Commission for Environmental Cooperation to lead a regional environmental agenda.

• NAFTA originally treated environmental and labour concerns as separate, parallel agreements focused on dispute resolution and sanctions rather than as integral parts of the treaty.
• Mexico established a strong environmental institutional framework and legislation, including a General Law on Climate Change, largely as a result of NAFTA negotiations since 1992.
• Despite legislative progress, environmental degradation linked to economic growth in Mexico is estimated to cost 7% of its annual Gross Domestic Product.
• The investor-state dispute mechanism in Chapter 11 has allowed companies to challenge environmental regulations as de facto expropriations, leading to successful claims of $170 million against Canada and $240 million against Mexico.
• The Commission for Environmental Cooperation has had a marginal role in dispute cases, and renegotiation offers a chance to make it central to a development vision guided by the Sustainable Development Goals.

APA

Studer, I. (2017). Renegotiation of NAFTA: An opportunity for sustainable development / La renegociación del TLCAN: una oportunidad para el desarrollo sostenible. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/renegotiation-nafta-opportunity-sustainable-development-la-renegociacion

Chicago

Studer, Isabel. Renegotiation of NAFTA: An opportunity for sustainable development / La renegociación del TLCAN: una oportunidad para el desarrollo sostenible. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2017. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/renegotiation-nafta-opportunity-sustainable-development-la-renegociacion.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Studer |first1=Isabel |title=Renegotiation of NAFTA: An opportunity for sustainable development / La renegociación del TLCAN: una oportunidad para el desarrollo sostenible |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=30 May 2017 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/renegotiation-nafta-opportunity-sustainable-development-la-renegociacion |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{studer2017renegotiation, author = {Studer, Isabel}, title = {{Renegotiation of NAFTA: An opportunity for sustainable development / La renegociación del TLCAN: una oportunidad para el desarrollo sostenible}}, publisher = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2017}, month = may, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/renegotiation-nafta-opportunity-sustainable-development-la-renegociacion}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }