Dispute Settlement Mechanisms in Free Trade Agreements: Strengths, Weaknesses And Best Practices
Executive Summary (Full report can be read here) This paper addresses the current need for effective and efficient dispute settlement mechanisms (“DSMs”) in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).* Canada is a party to several FTAs that include DSM chapters but rarely resorts to those DSMs to resolve trade disputes. This experience is not specific to Canada; in fact, most FTA DSMs have never been used. One reason for this may be that the World Trade Organization (“WTO”) has thus far o