It is time to be alert.
NAFTA negotiations are happening at an intensive rate at the USTR’s headquarters in Washington D.C. and government representatives from the US, Canada, and Mexico are seeking to come out with an agreement by the end of the month, possibly sooner.
USTR Lighthizer: “I believe if we don’t get it done in the next week or two then we’re on thin ice about whether it gets done before our (November legislative midterm) election.”
The Mexican government wants the full deal done while Canada and the US are ready to push forth a preliminary agreement. If this does not occur by the end of the month, then the deal-making will have to wait until 2019 given the legal hurdles the Trump administration would have to face in trying to pass the revisited NAFTA in Congress.
There is absolutely no transparency in the negotiating process for key issues regarding enforceable labor and environmental standards, intellectual property rules, or final investor-state dispute (ISDS) proposals in the revisions being made to NAFTA. While we do not know the details of what is happening, we do know this deal will be nothing remotely close to a true replacement of NAFTA. We do know that Republicans will feel the pressure to support a deeply flawed agreement in loyalty to Trump with the elections coming up in November and then again in 2020. We do know that while free traders are up in arms about possible limitations to the powers of ISDS tribunals, this deal does not provide true protections to North American workers or environments.
This deal is FAR FROM DONE. We want a complete replacement of NAFTA that represents trade for people and the planet, not just some minor revisions negotiated behind closed doors. Negotiations must be extended until we have a deal that puts people and the planet before profits. We rather have no deal than NAFTA 2.0.
