The North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) is the environmental side agreement to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The NAAEC was signed by Canada, Mexico and the United States and came into force January 1, 1994. The Agreement creates a framework to better conserve, protect and enhance the North American environment through cooperation and effective enforcement of environmental laws. The NAAEC establishes the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) to oversee implementation of the agreement and monitor the abilities of the Parties to meet the obligations. The CEC also has a quasi-judicial role in reviewing submissions from the public on enforcement matters and in supporting an arbitral panel process to resolve disputes between the Parties on specific trade-related issues associated with failure to effectively enforce environmental laws and regulations. Improved chemicals management and cooperation has been a major effort under the agreement. The full agreement may be downloaded at: http://www.cec.org/pubs_info_resources/law_treat_agree/naaec/index.cfm?…. In English and French.
