Yet another NAFTA suit

CCPA Monitor/CALM

The latest U.S. company to sue the Canadian government under NAFTA is Crompton Corp., a major chemical manufacturer based in Connecticut. Crompton is seeking $100 million (U.S.) in damages because Ottawa has banned the use of a canola pesticide called lindane that the company has been selling in Canada for many years.

The federal government decided to ban lindane following tests over the past three years that found it to be a possible cause of cancer. But the main reason for the ban is more likely because the United States had already banned the pesticide for use on canola and warned that it would block imports of the crop from Canada if it was treated with pesticides not allowed in the U.S.

American canola growers prevented from using lindane had complained that the higher cost of lindane substitutes gave Canadian farmers an unfair advantage.

Under NAFTA, none of this matters. All Crompton has to prove is that a ban in Canada will hurt its profits and reputation. It can also argue that none of the tests has proven with scientific certainty that lindane is a carcinogen.