1. Nothing in this Agreement is intended to provide nor shall be construed to provide, directly or indirectly, to any national, enterprise, state or other person any right, claim or remedy under any international agreement.
2. In the event that one of Canada’s trading partners alleges that, contrary to the intention stated in paragraph 1, on the basis of this Agreement, a national, enterprise, state or other person has been provided with a right, claim or remedy under any international agreement and requests formal consultations under such international agreement, the Committee shall, within 30 days after the date of the request, meet to take account of the new situation raised by the allegation and take the necessary action which includes, among other things, amending or removing, as appropriate, the obligation under this Agreement that gives rise to the allegation, or rebalancing the benefits under this Agreement.
3. Where, notwithstanding any action the Committee may take under paragraph 2, the trading partner proceeds to an international panel and is successful in establishing a right under an international agreement based on a provision of this Agreement, that provision is to that extent of no force or effect, unless the provision expressly states that it shall continue to exist notwithstanding the panel ruling.
4. The Parties recognize that an essential ingredient for achieving Canada’s trade and economic goals in the international arena is the cooperation between federal and provincial governments. Existing mechanisms set up in connection with the Canada-U.S.A. Free Trade Agreement, the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Final Act Embodying the Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, including the Agreement Establishing the World Trade
Organization, allow for consultations with and participation by the governments of the Provinces. It is understood that such mechanisms for consultation and participation will continue to be used in the future and that the Parties will take appropriate steps to assess international obligations to ensure that the relationship between any international obligations and this Agreement will be taken into account when new international obligations are negotiated or when international trade disputes arise. To this end, the Parties agree to review the effectiveness of existing mechanisms for consultation and participation within one year after the date of entry into force of this Agreement.