NAFTA BINATIONAL PANEL SYSTEM: SECOND CONSTITUTIONAL SUIT DISMISSED (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Feb. 10, 1998 |
| Report Number |
98-102 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Jeanne J. Grimmett, American Law Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
Chapter 19 of the NAFTA allows parties to antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings
to seek
binational panel review of final agency determinations in lieu of judicial review in the country in
which the determination was made. Some have argued that the process violates the Appointments
Clause of the U.S. Constitution and possesses other constitutional defects. Federal law allows suits
challenging the constitutionality of Chapter 19 panels, but these may only be brought by parties to
a panel proceeding. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently
dismissed a Chapter 19 constitutional challenge, holding that the plaintiff had failed to meet Article
III standing requirements (American Coalition for Competitive Trade v. Clinton, 129 F.3d 761
(decided Nov. 14, 1997)). Separately, the plaintiff had conceded its failure to meet the statutory
exhaustion requirement for filing such a suit, a requirement the court found to be constitutional as
well as typical of agency adjudication schemes.
