> And just what bodies are those? Do they fly black helicopters?
>
The enforcement for NAFTA comes from the courts rather than the black helicopters.
> As I understood it, NAFTA was not self-enforcing. There are forums to
> discuss (and apply sanctions) to countries that violate their NAFTA
> obligations. But there is no super-sovereignty with jurisdiction over
> U.S. citizens or organizations.
As I understand, NAFTA has forums that you mentioned, which were sops to environmental and labor communities, and which were toothless.
The more powerful provisions allow for the elimination of restraints of trade, such as the Mexican state that wants to prevent the location of the toxic waste dump, but faces legal action under NAFTA.
> Not that a (democratically-accountable) supra-national authority
> would necessarily be a bad thing. Because NAFTA is not
> self-enforcing, the U.S. and Canada have no power to force Mexican
> local police to live up to labor side agreements...
Nor was this part of NAFTA intended to have teeth.
--
Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901