Commission for Environmental Cooperation

As of July 1, 2020, the SEM process is now governed by the provisions of the new trade agreement among Canada, Mexico and the United States. The agreement is known as CUSMA/T-MEC/USMCA in the three countries, and the SEM provisions are included in Chapter 24 (Environment): Article 24.27 (Submissions) and Article 24.28 (Factual Records and Related Cooperation).

The SEM-related provisions from Chapter 24, the applicable SEM-related definitions from Chapter 1, and the complete Environmental Cooperation Agreement (ECA) are available on our “Filing a Submission” page under Publications.

Aside from shortening certain SEM-related time frames related to the Secretariat’s review of a submission and the Party’s review of submissions referred by the Secretariat, the new trade agreement does not significantly change the SEM process from the previous North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) SEM process, except in two areas:

1. the trade agreement narrows the scope of environmental laws that can be invoked in a submission to those enacted, promulgated or enforced by the central level of government in each Party (see the applicable definition of “environmental law” in Article 24.1); and
2. submitters are no longer limited to residents of or non-governmental organizations established in the territory of a Party, as they were under the NAAEC, but are now defined to include “any person [or enterprise] of a Party”(see the applicable definitions of these terms in Article 1.5 (General Definitions).

If you are considering filing a submission, the Secretariat refers you to visit the “Filing a Submission” page and use our fillable PDF form and instructions, which summarize the new requirements and guide you through the process of what you need to include in your submission.