On Wednesday, TransCanada Corp. intends to file a US$15-billion lawsuit against American President Barack Obama. The corporation will file the mentioned lawsuit under the North American Free Trade Agreement. The reason behind the charges was President Obama's politically driven denial of the Keystone XL pipeline project.
The company filed a lawsuit in US Federal Court in Houston. TransCanada Corp. claims that Obama rejected Keystone XL's project and exceeded his power under the US constitution. TransCanada Corp. also said that the president's denial was utterly political. This is opposite to the conclusions of the administration's research, and in violation of US obligations under the agreement. Bill McKibben, a leading campaigner against Keystone XL pipeline, said that the lawsuit filed against the president is going to remind Americans how these sovereignty treaties give away.
The company stated that the administration has this reasoning where Keystone's application should be denied so that the US could assert leadership on climate change. "Appeasing those who held a view on the environmental impact of the Keystone XL pipeline that the administration itself concluded on six different occasions was wholly unsubstantiated." The company argues that it is 'inexplicable' that it took 7 years of review to come to such conclusion.
The Huffington Post reported that three-judge tribunal will issue a ruling and this cannot be appealed to any court. While the court can award damages and give TransCanada millions in lost investment, the panel cannot force the US government to allow the pipeline to be constructed.
Martin O'Malley, a presidential candidate who happens to be a Democrat, is said to be using the lawsuit to campaign against another trade deal. The other deal involves Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which would create a 12-country free trade area. US and Canada are among the countries which will benefit from TPP deal and that would encompass 40% of the world's economy.
The lawsuit challenges, whether President Obama's rejection of the Keystone XL Pipeline proposal was Constitutional. If TransCanada wins the case, then the company might be able to raise the damages in the penalty case.
The most logical reason why President Obama denied Keystone XL is that he wants presidential candidate Hilary Clinton to become President and continue everything that he started. If he accepted the deal with TransCanada, he would have lost all chance of that happening.
