Economy
TransCanada Suing U.S. Over Rejection of Keystone XL Pipeline
Written by Sandy Williams
January 6, 2016
TransCanada says it intends to file a claim for more than $15 billion against the U.S. for what it calls the “arbitrary and unjustified” rejection of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
The claim, filed under Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement, seeks to recover “costs and damages that it has suffered as a result of the U.S. Administration’s breach of its NAFTA obligations.”
Despite five studies in which the U.S. government concluded that the proposed pipeline would not have an impact on greenhouse gas production, the U.S. still rejected construction of the pipeline as political move to gain favor for the administration regarding climate change, claimed TransCanada.
“In its decision, the U.S. State Department acknowledged the denial was not based on the merits of the project,” said TransCanada in a press release. “Rather, it was a symbolic gesture based on speculation about the perceptions of the international community regarding the Administration’s leadership on climate change and the President’s assertion of unprecedented, independent powers.”
At the time of the decision, President Obama said, “America is now a global leader when it comes to serious action to fight climate change. Approving this project would have undercut that global leadership, and that’s the biggest risk we face: not acting.”
TransCanada also filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Federal Court of Texas alleging that President Obama’s denial of the project “exceeded his power under the U.S. Constitution” and “intruded on Congress’s power under the Constitution to regulate interstate and international commerce.
According to a TransCanada spokesperson the lawsuit does not name President Obama directly, instead naming Secretary of State John Kerry and other officials, because “the decision was made by the State Department, while acting under delegated authority from the president.”
TransCanada claims it had every reason to expect approval of the pipeline because it met the same criteria as other similar cross-border pipelines.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Economy
ISM: Manufacturing growth slows in July, hits 10-month low
US manufacturing activity slowed again in July to a 10-month low
CRU: Pushing EU imports back to 15% would be a big task
Several EU member states have published a ‘non-paper’ that puts forward proposals for a post-safeguard trade measure.
SMU Community Chat: Tariff-induced panic purchases, inflation, and calculating costs
Chief executive of the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), Tom Derry highlighted how reactive buying behavior has shifted the market into a quiet demand period. Derry presented ISM data during the weekly SMU community chat.
Architecture billings still sluggish despite project inquiry uptick
The Architecture Billings Index (ABI), a leading indicator for non-residential construction activity, declined for an eighth straight month in June.
Beige Book: Tariff pressures mount, flat outlook
All districts reported “experiencing modest to pronounced input cost pressures related to tariffs, especially for raw materials used in manufacturing and construction.”