Rep. Peter DeFazio on Trump Administration Objectives for NAFTA Renegotiation
Congressman Peter DeFazio (OR-04) released the following statement on the Trump Administration’s objectives for the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA):
“I am pleased to see that the Trump administration took a hardline stance on the unconstitutional dispute settlement process laid out in Chapter 19 of the original agreement. Chapter 19 has wrought havoc on U.S. industries, in particular on the softwood lumber industry, and I have been pushing for its removal for decades.
“However, this exclusion appears to be the only specific objective in a 17-page list of vague suggestions and half-hearted proposals. Working Americans have been waiting for more than two decades to see real, concrete changes to NAFTA, and simply tweaking a few provisions will not do anything to correct the disastrous course this deal set us on.
“I have created the 21st Century Worker’s Bill of Rights as a guideline for the best way to renegotiate NAFTA to provide a truly fair deal for our nation’s workers. These guidelines include strong, enforceable provisions for economic, labor, and worker protections—provisions that are woefully lacking in the Trump administration’s objectives.
“I will continue to watch NAFTA renegotiations closely, and will measure the success of any new trade deal against my 21st Century Bill of Rights to ensure that America’s workers, consumers, sovereignty and environment are fully protected.”
Last week, Rep. DeFazio led seventeen other House members on a letter to President Trump outlining their priorities for the renegotiation of NAFTA. In the letter, the members declared their intent to use the 21st Century Worker’s Bill of Rights as a measurement for the administration’s NAFTA renegotiations and any new version of the agreement to come. To see a PDF version of the letter, click here.
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