• Journal of Arbitration Studies
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.103-124
• /
• 2012

Because the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (Korea-U.S. FTA) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have an overlapping contracting party, the United States, their provisions have much in common. The investment chapters of these agreements, especially, show many similarities, and thanks to these similarities, it is likely that the Korea-U.S. FTA arbitration tribunal for investor-state disputes regarding the environment will put great weight on the NAFTA tribunals' interpretations of those similar provisions. Since the NAFTA tribunals have already handled many environment-related arbitration cases, their interpretations will help heighten the predictability of environment-related Korea-U.S. FTA arbitration cases. This paper analyzes the environment-related NAFTA cases in which the tribunal has issued an award, which are the Metalclad case, S.D. Myers case, Waste Management case, Methanex case, Glamis Gold case, and Chemtura case. According to this analysis, the most controversial NAFTA provisions have been Article 1102 (national treatment), Article 1105 (minimum treatment standard, fair and equitable treatment), and Article 1110 (expropriation). The NAFTA tribunals applied the requirement of these articles in a strict manner, reducing the possibility of finding a violation. After the aforementioned analysis, this paper proceeds to compare the national treatment, minimum treatment standard (fair and equitable treatment), and expropriation provisions of the Korea-U.S. FTA and NAFTA and to predict the impact that the environment-related awards under NAFTA can have on environment-related Korea-U.S. FTA cases. It is expected that the NAFTA interpretations of the national treatment and minimum treatment provisions are likely be used as they are, but not the interpretations of expropriation, because of the differences in the expropriation provisions of the two agreements.

• The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
• /
• v.7
• /
• pp.17-53
• /
• 1995

The paper analyzes the impact of EC and NAFTA integration upon Korea and other 3rd countries and studies policies how to react against them particularly in the field of aviation and tourism industry. Chapter 2 introduces the contents of each step and process of EC integration in the field of aviation and tourism industry. Chapter 3 analyzes the contents of integration and cooperation of NAFTA in the field of aviation and tourism industry. Chapter 4 studies the regulation or deregulation policy of EC and NAFTA toward the industry of non-EC and non-NAFTA area. Chapter 5 surveys and analyzes about the policies and strategies of Japan, ASEAN and the 3rd countries. Finally, Chapter 6 analyzes the impact on Korean aviation and tourism industry and proposes some suggestions on the future policy of Korea independently or in association with the neighboring countries such as Japan and China against the integration of EC and NAFTA.

• International Area Studies Review
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.55-76
• /
• 2011

In this paper, we estimate a model that incorporates key features of business cycles, co-movement among economic variables and switching between regimes of expansion and recession, to aggregate quarterly data for the NAFTA region. Two common factors reflecting the permanent and transitory components of the business cycle in the region, along with the turning points from one regime to the other, were extracted from the data by using the Kalman filter and maximum likelihood estimation approach of Kim (1994). Estimation results confirm that a typical aspect of business cycles are also observed (i.e., recessions are steeper and shorter than recoveries) in the region, and that both co-movement and that regime switching are found to be important features of the business cycle. The two common factors produce sensible representations of the trend and cycle, and the estimated turning points are in line with independently determined chronologies. It also turns out that the degree of synchronization between the NAFTA region and Korea, has significantly increased since the entry into force of the NAFTA.

• International Commerce and Information Review
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.369-387
• /
• 2012

Throughout intensive negotiations on the KORUS FTA and even after its ratification on March 15, 2012, ISD (Investor-State Dispute Settlement) has been at the center of many controversies within the FTA. Although the original function of the ISD is intended to be a protectional measure for foreign investors, there have been many foreign investors who tried to use the ISD as a tool to attack a government and nullify the public policy demanding tremendous amount of compensation. Many of the NAFTA ISD cases including Ehtyl v. Canada and UPS v. Canada demonstrate such a behavior by foreign investors. It is the right time for Korean government to conduct in depth studies on NAFTA ISD cases because the precedents provide invaluable insights including the legal reasoning by the decision making authorities including ICSID and UNCITRAL. The lessons we would learn from those cases would prepare Korean government for expected ISD claims by foreign investors and enable the government to maximize its efficiency in policy making process under a new international trade environment, the KORUS FTA.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.155-174
• /
• 1997

This paper's main objective is to present an assessment of the impact of NAFTA on the economic structure of the Mexican northem borderlands. The NAFTA is the strategy of a free trade agreement with the United States and Canada, first mentioned by Salinas in June 1990 and established since January 1994. Mexican govemment permitted factories called maquiladoras at the northem borderlands for the first time in 1965. in the early 1980s Mexico was in a deep economic crisis and the international environment was adverse to Mexico. Mexico began to move toward an open economy and abandoned the import-substitution industrialization model that characterized Mexico since the 1930s. Through the new economic reform, the market system was preferred to the regulation; the private ownership, to the public ownership; and the competition, to the protection. The most phenomenal urbanization in northem Mexico has occurred around the major crossing points along the Mexico-U.S. border. The rapid urbanization in northern Mexico has been much due to the industrialization, brought about bv the maquiladora programs and, recently, by the NAFTA.

• 전기산업
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.25-34
• /
• 1993

• TTA Journal
• /
• s.34
• /
• pp.126-131
• /
• 1994

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.525-541
• /
• 2012

This study aims to investigate the possibility of Investor-State Dispute under Korea US FTA in relation to Korean environmental impact assessment scheme. The study analyzes the Investor-State Dispute case between Bilcon of Delaware and the government of Canada. The case study shows that Bilcon challenged Canada with violations of NAFTA 1102, 1103 and 1105, arguing that Canada treated Bilcon in an arbitrary and discriminatory manner. The study analyzes two different scenarios that Korea could face with arbitration for alleged breach of its obligations under the Korea US FTA in relation to EIA scheme. From analyzing the case study in relation to two different scenarios, the study finds that problems previously identified and associated with EIA scheme in Korea could directly or indirectly cause Investor-State Dispute Settlement process between Korea and American investors. The study concludes that the risk of violating Korea US FTA related with Korean EIA could be reduced by creating Korean EIA scheme in a transparent and unarbitrary manner which guarantees fair public participation and elaborating the concrete meaning of sustainable development in EIA law.

• International Commerce and Information Review
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.409-431
• /
• 2012

This article deals with the nature of ISDS along with the admissibility thereof, for the settlement of investment disputes between states and nationals of other states. ICSID as an organization of World Bank Group, has been established in 1966 and as of May in 2011, 157 nations ratified its convention. As for the Republic of Korea(ROK) it has been involved in the problematic situation with regard to ISDS of the KORUS FTA in negotiation with the United States. The ruling Grand National Party is pushing the FTA for ratification including ISDS. However, the opposition party, the Unified Democratic Party rejected the ISDS with a view to a toxin infringing on its judiciary sovereignty. The ROK has invested in the US 3.5 times more than the US did in Korea up to now. As a result, it seems that the ROK is more concerned about ISDS than the US is, considering that exhausting local remedy through the US local courts, applying even a municipal ordinance in their decisions which will be unsatisfactory toward the ROK side. The ROK is now struggling with the ISDS as a political issue between the ruling party and the opposition party mostly based on sovereignty with a reference on AUSFTA which excluded the ISDS. Australian model about ISDS has been impacted by the experience from the NAFTA which allowes direct claims against each other(the US against Canada and Canada against the US). It seems not to be much sympathy for developed countries because it has long been held to standards for pressing on developing countries. Australia is also struggling with ISDS from the political point of view likewise the ROK. And the ISDS is destined to the political situations established within the domestic countries among the political parties in relation with the acceptance or rejection of thereof.

• Journal of Korean Electronics
• /
• v.11 no.10
• /
• pp.13-16
• /
• 1991