The U.S. has emerged victorious in the $15 billion arbitration case brought by TC Energy over the cancellation of the Keystone pipeline, with an international tribunal dismissing the claims on jurisdictional grounds.
In an award issued Friday, the tribunal, composed of presiding arbitrator Alexis Mourre and wing arbitrators Henri C. Alvarez and John R. Crook, accepted a jurisdictional objection lodged by the U.S. Alvarez, the arbitrator appointed by TC Energy, dissented.
US Wins $15B Keystone Cancellation Case : Tribunal Dismisses Claims
The tribunal concluded that it lacked jurisdiction because the underlying trade deal, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), had terminated when the permit for the Keystone project was revoked by the Biden administration in early 2021. NAFTA was replaced by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in mid-2020.
Although the award had not been made public by Monday morning, a TC Energy spokesperson confirmed the news in an email to Law360.
