Environmental Protection in Trans-Atlantic (CETA) and North-Atlantic (USMCA) Megaregional Agreements: Towards Greater Integration and Regulatory Convergence

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the EU and its Member States and Canada (“CETA”), and the recently adopted United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (“USMCA”) pro- vide for a great opportunity to reform in a more sustainable direction the eco- nomic domestic regulatory practices as well as the trade and investment relation- ships among some of the most influential states and regions of the world. This study analyzes how these agreements integrate environmental concerns with their still mainstream economic objectives. Fur- thermore, it shows the similarities and differences between the two treaties, in search of common, “transatlantic” rules for the protection of the environment. To draw a more comprehensive picture, it examines substantive standards as well as institutional and procedural aspects re- lating to environmental matters in light of their interdependent connection. After describing the rise of so-called “mega- regional” agreements, the second part looks at the environmental provisions in both CETA and USMCA. The third part examines the innovative chapter on good regulatory practices and cooperation that has important implications for environ- mental protection. The fourth part con- siders how these agreements clarify and narrow the scope of substantive stan- dards of investment protection and their effects on environmental matters. The fifth part addresses selected institutional and procedural matters relating to the enforceability of environmental obliga- tions and their relationship with inves- tor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). The final section concludes by showing two trends: the first one is a still incomplete “top-down” harmonization of substantive environmental clauses and investment protection standards between the exam- ined regulatory regimes; the second one is an emerging, potentially promising and long-lasting “bottom-up” alignment on procedural aspects and cooperation on States Parties’ regulatory processes.