"Democrats Call for End to Investor-State Dispute Provisions in US Trade Deals"
33 Democratic lawmakers have written to the US Trade Representative and State Department, urging them to eliminate investor-state dispute settlement provisions from current and future trade deals and to intervene on behalf of Honduras against a US company's nearly $11 billion claim against the country. The lawmakers argue that the ISDS systems in trade deals constitute a "problematic corporate handout" that violates countries' sovereignty and democracy rights. The case could require impoverished Honduras to pay billions of taxpayer dollars to a company that has "weaponized" the dispute settlement provisions.