or agricultural irrigation, then it would be considered a good under the EC Treaty. Fourth, even were these hurdles to somehow be overcome, a very large proportion of Canadian water resources can already be considered subject to commercial use either because it has been allocated to various users or because it is subject to proprietary claims such as the rights of licensees and riparian users. In British Columbia for example, as of 1993, approximately 40,000 licenses for the withdrawal of surface water were in existence in the province. In fact, many provincial surface water sources are over-subscribed and are identified by the BC Ministry of Environment Lands and Parks as water-short. In the Great Lakes, the largest single use of water is for the very commercial purpose of generating hydroelectric power and is estimated to exceed one trillion gallons per day. In Ontario, millions of litres of water are withdrawn from groundwater aquifers by commercial water bottling companies, each day. Moreover, while water used for individual consumption might not be considered a commercial use, water in municipal distribution systems could hardly be considered water in its "natural state." Therefore even if one were to accept the proposition that "entered into commerce" is the appropriate standard to determine the application of rules concerning trade in goods, a very substantial proportion of Canadian water resources would have to be viewed as having "entered commerce" and for that reason, subject to these trade disciplines. Fifth, while the 1993 Statement seems to be nothing more than a restatement of US law on the point, even should it be considered as derogating from the principles engendered by NAFTA and WTO rules, it would not be binding on a panel or tribunal called upon to resolve a dispute concerning water export control measures. A recent study by the US State Department describes the use of joint statements at international law: It has lo...
