The company is playing by the rules established by El Salvador's own 1999 mining law. El Salvador's president in 2008 publicly stated that he was willing to pay $90 to cancel the project. The government of El Salvador, if it really didn't want the mine, could have turned down the project before accepting $77 million of the company's money. If someone took your money and then refused to give you what you paid for, or to return the money, you might seek redress too. Cheating foreigners may play well to the local crowd, but if you call it justice, I suppose we won't agree.
As for your hypothetical scenario, the United States has a long record of breaking trade deals. Its economic heft usually ensures that Americans can tilt the playing field in their favour. If there is a threat of poisoned wells and children in sweatshops, I would be more afraid of domestic companies and governments than of foreign ones.
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Date: 24/11/13 21:34 (UTC)As for your hypothetical scenario, the United States has a long record of breaking trade deals. Its economic heft usually ensures that Americans can tilt the playing field in their favour. If there is a threat of poisoned wells and children in sweatshops, I would be more afraid of domestic companies and governments than of foreign ones.