A depot used to store pipes for Transcanada Corp’s planned Keystone XL oil pipeline is seen in Gascoyne, North Dakota in this November 14, 2014 file photo. REUTERS/Andrew Cullen) by Todd Tucker / Washington Post On Jan. 6, TransCanada went to court to claim that the Obama administration’s failure to approve the Keystone XL pipeline violates U.S. obligations under the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. The company is asking for $15 billion in compensation from U.S. taxpayers. This mixes two challenges confronting President Obama and Democratic politicians in recent years. Environmentalists have turned the ecologically questionable tar sands pipeline into a no-fly-zone in domestic politics. Meanwhile, labor and other groups have made opposition to NAFTA-style deals essential for their electoral support. In the face of this pressure from the left, even one-time advocates of both the pipeline and trade deals like Hillary Clinton have reversed course on both. The U.S. has never lost an ISDS lawsuit. Keystone might break the winning streak. A bit of background before moving into what TransCanada’s case could portend. NAFTA (much like the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP) allows foreign investors to bring direct legal challenges against a wide range of host state regulations. […]
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