trade conflicts on a Chapter by Chapter basis, would be to negotiate a general exception for water protection measures in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 21. In this regard the very broad exception established under Article 2102 with respect to National Security provides a useful prototype for such an exception. To paraphrase and expand slightly upon the terms of this Article, this exception might be drafted to provide that: Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent or in any other way limit a Party from taking any action that it considers necessary for the protection or conservation of water in any form including:orelating to the extraction or trade of water for export or by diversion; or, orelating to the implementation of national policies or international agreements respecting the conservation or protection of water. Furthermore, any action taken by Party in furtherance of these objectives will not be subject to the dispute settlement provisions of Section B of Chapter 11, and of Chapter 20. The obvious advantage to such an approach is that it provides an exception for water export measures from all provisions of NAFTA. With the usual caveat about the need for caution, we believe that if properly drafted, such a general exception would likely provide effective protection from NAFTA-based challenges to Canadian water export measures. The possibility of a US state-to-state challenge under the WTO could then be addressed by imposing an export tax on Canadian water that would effectively preclude exports. Should this course not be desirable for other policy reasons, a similar exception or carve out would need to be negotiated under the WTO. Given the diversity of interests in water that might come to fore in the global context, we can not comment on the likelihood of succeeding with such efforts. 6.2.3 An International Agreement on Water SovereigntyIn our view, it would also be desirable to negotiate a bi-later...
