The Global Subsidies Initiative was designed to put the spotlight on subsidies and the corrosive effects they can have on environmental quality, economic development and governance.
The Methanex case was an investment dispute between Canada-based Methanex Corporation and the United States, based on the provisions in the North American Free Trade Agreement's (NAFTA) Chapter 11 on investment. The issues it raised on the interaction between investor protection and environmental protection were so acute that IISD sought and received precedent-setting permission to submit a friend of the court (amicus curiae) brief in the case.