Vol. 152, No. 4 — February 21, 2018

Registration

SOR/2018-13 February 6, 2018

SPECIAL IMPORT MEASURES ACT

P.C. 2018-70 February 6, 2018

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of International Trade and the Minister of Finance, pursuant to paragraph 77.035(c) (see footnote a) of the Special Import Measures Act (see footnote b), makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Members of Panels (NAFTA) Regulations.

Regulations Amending the Members of Panels (NAFTA) Regulations

Amendments

1 Sections 3 and 3.1 of the Members of Panels (NAFTA) Regulations (see footnote 1) are replaced by the following:

3 For the purposes of paragraph 1 of Annex 1901.2 to Chapter Nineteen of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the persons listed in the schedule to these Regulations are named to the panel roster to serve as candidates for selection to panels, during pleasure, for a period of 10 years, beginning on the day on which this section comes into force.

2 Schedules I and II to the Regulations are replaced by the schedule set out in the schedule to these Regulations.

Coming into Force

3 These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

SCHEDULE

(section 2)

SCHEDULE

(section 3)

Persons Named to Panel Roster

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

The Regulations Amending the Members of Panels (NAFTA) Regulations are needed under domestic law to appoint persons to the roster provided for in Chapter 19 (Review and Dispute Settlement in Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Matters) of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Background

A number of international trade and investment agreements to which Canada is a party provide for the establishment of rosters of persons available to serve on dispute settlement bodies. Should a dispute arise under the agreement, individuals from the roster are named to the dispute settlement body through a process specified in the relevant agreement to determine the dispute in accordance with the provisions of the agreement.

Objectives

The objective of the Regulations is to appoint, under domestic law, persons to the roster provided for in Chapter 19 (Review and Dispute Settlement in Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Matters) of NAFTA.

Description

NAFTA Chapter 19 provides for the establishment of a roster of qualified individuals to determine disputes arising under that Chapter. Each NAFTA party (Canada, Mexico, United States) must name at least 25 individuals to the roster. These Regulations update the list of individuals Canada names to the roster. The qualified individuals were selected as the result of an open, transparent and merit-based selection process. The Regulations also modernize the domestic terms of service from 2 years during good behaviour to 10 years during pleasure.

“One-for-One” Rule

The “One-for-One” Rule does not apply to this proposal, as there is no change in administrative costs to business.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply to this proposal, as there are no costs on small business.

Rationale

The Regulations are required in order to appoint, under domestic law, persons to the roster provided for in Chapter 19 (Review and Dispute Settlement in Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Matters) of NAFTA. It is advantageous for Canada to maintain under its law a current roster of individuals who may be appointed to serve on dispute settlement panels established under Chapter 19. The qualified individuals were selected through an open, transparent and merit-based selection process.

Contact

André François Giroux
Canadian Secretary
NAFTA Secretariat (Canadian Section)
111 Sussex Drive, 5th floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0G2
Telephone: 343-203-4268
Email: andrefrancois.giroux@international.gc.ca